I  *  I  •  I  •  I  •  I  •  I  •  I  ••  I  •  I  * 


Hov,  to   Help 


•JPE,    M.  D 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK:  27  &  29  WEST  23D  STREET 
<:  25  HENRIETTA  STREET,  COVENT 


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to  the 
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of  use 
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7  1974 


TILL  THE  DOCTOR  COMES, 


ANC- 


TO HELP  HIM. 


BY 

GEORGE    H.   HOPE, 

M.D.,  M.R.C.S.E. 

BEVISED,  wrrn  ADDITIONS  BY  A  NEW  YORK  PHYSICIAN. 


NEW  YORK 

G.   P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 
27  AND  29  WEST  23o  STREET 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1871, 

BY  G.  P.  PUTNAM  &  SONS, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


"RC 


PEEFACE  TO  THE  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


I 


preparing  this  little  volume  for  the  American  public, 
it  has  seemed  to  me  not  advisable  to  make  any  essen- 
tial change  in  its  original  plan.  Its  style  is  attractive, 
and  I  have  in  many  instances  done  little  else  than  give 
familiar  names  in  place  of  those  which  are  less  well  known 
in  this  country.  My  aim  has  been  to  simplify  the  text, 
and  with  this  view  I  have  omitted  several  prescriptions 
more  elaborate  than  could  well  be  made  up  in  a  family, 
and  have  struck  out  several  subjects  where  I  thought  the 
risk  of  delay  would  be  less  than  that  of  treatment  at 
non-medical  hands.  I  have  added  a  few  short  paragraphs 
on  subjects  to  which  our  wide  extent  of  country,  and  our 
peculiarities  of  climate,,  give  an  every -day  importance 
they  do  not  possess  in  England.  In  some  few  cases  where 
my  views  of  the  best  treatment  have  differed  from  the 
author's,  I  have  substituted  such  directions  as  I  thought 
did  justice  to  myself,  and  would  prove  of  the  great- 
est service  to  those  who  may  consult  this  book.  But  I 
would  say  to  those  who  learn  from  these  pages  how  they 
may  well  employ  the  anxious  moments  titt  the  doctor 
comes  and  takes  the  responsibility  upon  his  shoulders, 
that  their  thanks  are  justly  due  to  the  English  author, 
much  more  than  to  the  American  Editor. 

J.  IL  E. 
April,  1871. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Asiatic  cholera,   or    cholera 
morbus 61 

Baths,  bathing,  etc.     ...  80 

Beds  and  bedding  ....  13 

Bed  sores 74 

Bleeding,  and  how  to  stop  it  82 

Blow  or  fall,  wounds  from  a  31 

Boils 72 

Bowel  complaints   ....  63 
Broken  bones — 

Arm,  above  the  elbow    .  38 

-    Arm,  below  the  elbow    .  38 

Collar-bone 36 

Elbow  joint 38 

General  remarks     ...  40 

Hand,  foot,  or  ankle    .    .  38 

Head 36 

Hip  joint 39 

Knee,  cap  of  the    ...  39 

Leg,  below  the  knee    .    .  40 

Ribs  with  a  wound    .    .  37 

Ribs  without  a  wound    .  37 

Thigh .    .  39 

Burns  and  scalds    ....  25 

Carbuncles 72 

Cautions  against    common 

errors 8' 

Chilblains 79 

Choking 7( 

Cholera 61 


TAGS. 

Cholera  morbas     ....  63 

lold  bath 80 

Colic 65 

Common  cold  and  influenza  68 

.    .  66 

.  30 


;roup    .... 
!uts  on  the  head 


diarrhoea 63 

Dislocations,  or  limbs  out  of 
joint — 

Hip 43 

Jaw 41 

Neck 41 

Shoulder 42 

Thumb 43 

Wrist,  knee,  or  ankle  .    .  43 

Drowning,  how  to   restore 

from 50 

Dysentery 65 

Ear-ache 74 

Eye,  things  in  the  ....  74 

Fever 53 

Fire,  persons  on  .    ...  25 
Fish-hooks  and  crochet-nee- 
dles, to  get  out 81 

Fits 69 

Frost-bites 78 

Frozen,  people  being  .    .    .  71 


Hooping-cough   . 
llow  to  bear  pain 


CONTENTS. 


juiani,  now  TO  ueip  wuii  a 
Influenza    

n     vv 

,    G9 

Leeches,  how  to  use    .    . 

.    82 

Lungs,  bleeding  from    . 

.    35 

Measles      

59 

Medicine  chest,  the     .    . 

.    22 

Miscellaneous     .... 

71 

Nose  and  ear,  things  in    . 

.    75 

Nose,  bleeding  from  the  . 

.    32 

Nurses  and  nursing    .    . 

.    15 

Nails,  in-growing    .    .    . 

.    73 

Pain  in  the  face    .    .    . 

.    74 

Poisons  and  poisoning    . 

.    45 

Presence  of  mind   .    .    . 

.      7 

Rheumatic  fever    .    .    . 

.    81 

Scalds    

.    25 

Scarlet  fever  

56 

Shin,  wounds  on  the    .    . 

.    31 

Shower  bath,  the    .    .    . 

.    81 

Sick-room,  the    ... 

.    11 

FADE. 

Small-pox 59 

Splinters  and  nails,  wounds 

from 30 

Sprains       43 

Stomach,  bleeding  into    .    .  34 

Sunstroke 70 

Taking  things  quietly     .    .  7 

Thrush 95 

Toe-nails,  in-growing  ...  73 

Tooth-ache 74 

Tooth-rash 95 

Ulcers  of  the  leg  71 

Useful  hints 81 

Vapor  bath,  the 81 

Varicose  veins 85 

Veins,  enlargement  of    .    .  35 

Ventilation 12 

Vomiting  blood 34 

Warm  bath 81 

Whitlow 73 

Worms 97 

Wounds  30 


TILL  THE  DOCTOR  COMES. 


TAKING  THINGS  QUIETLY. 

A  SHORT  time  since  a  man  met  with  an  accident,  hav- 
ing his  wrist  cut  with  a  piece  of  a  broken  jug. 
This-mau,  residing  in  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  world. 
Surrounded  by  thousands  of  people,  the  largest  hospitals, 
and  the  best  doctors,  was  allowed  to  bleed  to  death,  and 
his  wife  had  to  stand  her  trial  for  murder,  all  for  the 
want  of  a  little  knowledge,  a  little  common  sense,  used 
at  the  proper  time. 

The  occurrence  much  impressed  my  mind  with  the 
need  of  a  few  hints  and  instructions,  as  to  what  is  best  to 
be  done  in  the  case  of  accident  or  sudden  illness,  especi- 
ally by  those  who  reside  at  a  distance  from  the  nearest 
surgeon.  I  therefore  propose  to  write,  in  the  very  plain- 
est language,  a  few  directions  and  suggestions.  But  no 
one  can  always  foretell  whether  a  matter  will  prove  se- 
rious or  not.  What  I  may  write,  therefore,  is  not  to  take 
the  place  of  the  advice  or  care  of  a  doctor,  but  merely 
that  people  may  employ  the  time  profitably  while  they 
are  waiting  TILL  THE  DOCTOR  COMES.  As  he  is  not  likely 
to  come  till  he  knows  he  is  wanted,  the  first  thing  will  bo 
to  send  to  him,  and  while  the  messenger  is  away,  let  us 
consider  what  to  do. 

Well,  then,  let  us  suppose  an  accident  has  happened, 
what  is  the  first  thing  we  want  ?  Presence  of  mind,  self 


8  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

control,  and  the  power  of  keeping  silent  when  it  is  best 
*o  do  so.  Of  all  the  miserable  hindering  nuisances,  there 
is  none  worse  than  persons  who,  just  at  the  time  when 
their  services  are  most  required,  begin  to  scream,  run 
wildly  about,  put  themselves  in  every  one's  way,  hinder 
other  people,  are  not  able  to  give  a  sensible  answer,  per- 
haps  faint,  or  go  into  hysterics,  or  pretend  to  do  so. 

Every  one  knows  that  all  have  not  the  same  gifts,  all 
have  not  the  same  strength  of  nerve.  Most  people  have 
naturally  a  feeling  of  dread  and  of  nervous  horror  at  the 
sight  of  blood;  and  this  is  quite  natural,  for  blood  al- 
ways suggests  to  the  mind  suffering  or  death.  Still,  much 
can  be  done  by  mere  force  of  will,  determination,  facing 
the  thing  bravely.  Not  that  we  should  be  hard-hearted, 
and  have  no  sympathy  with  our  fellow  creatures  when 
suffering.  But  by  a  determination  to  conquer  one's  self,  in 
plain  language  to  make  one's  self  go  througli  it,  this  can  be 
done,  and  is  done  by  hundreds  every  day.  Some  ignor- 
ant people  will  tell  you  that  a  doctor  has  no  feeling  for 
his  patient,  but  they  know  little  of  the  truth.  Ask  those 
who  live  with  them  and  know  them,  and  hear  their  re- 
marks about  the  painful  operations  they  have  had  to  per- 
form, and  how  nobly  the  poor  patient  bore  it.  Ask  Flor- 
ence Nightingale  and  the  noble  women  who  without 
pay  or  reward  attend  in  our  hospitals,  and  in  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  who  witness  and  dress 
every  description  of  wound  and  accident.  Almost 
every  description  of  loathsome  disease  is  nursed  by  these 
tenderly  brought  up  ladies — accidents  by  machinery 
tearing  the  body  to  pieces,  accidents  by  fire,  where  not 
only  is  the  poor  sufferer  a  frightful  object,  but  where  the 
peculiar  sickening  smell  of  burnt  flesh  seems  to  cling  to 
the  person  and  clothing  for  days  afterwards.  Do  not  they 
suffer  when  others  are  in  pain  ?  Yes,  truly ;  but  they  have 
taught  themselves  to  bear  it,  so  that  they  can  overcome 


TAKING  THINGS   QUIETLY.  9 

their  feelings.  Let  us  strive  to  conquer  ourselves,  to  be 
calm  when  accidents  happen  or  sudden  illness  comes  on, 
so  that  we  may  be  useful  to  others  in  their  distress. 

There  is  a  wonderful  difference  in  the  way  in  which 
pain  affects  individuals.  The  injury  which  will  be  borne 
by  one  with  scarcely  a  word  of  complaint,  will  force  an- 
other to  cry  out  and  writhe  about.  A  sailor,  or  a  man 
accustomed  to  labor  in  the  open  fields,  or  any  person 
taken  suddenly  from  an  active  life,  cannot  be  expected  to 
bear  confinement  to  bed,  or  even  to  one  position,  as  well 
as  another  who  has  been  employed  sitting  at  some  indoor 
occupation.  It  is  well  for  nurses  and  friends  to  bear  this 
in  mind,  and  not  to  be  easily  made  cross  or  impatient. 
For  many  years  I  had  to  do  with  one  of  our  largest  hos- 
pitals. I  scarcely  ever  had  a  healthy  sailor  come  into  the 
house  with  a  broken  limb,  who  did  not  manage  to  kick  off 
splints,  bandages,  and  so  on  regularly  the  first  few  nights. 
But  it  is  only  for  a  short  time,  they  soon  become  quiet 
and  accustomed  to  the  confinement. 

Let  all  who  have  to  suffer,  remember  a  few  simple  truths. 
When  they  give  way,  they  add  greatly  to  the  distress  and 
confusion  of  those  who  are  with  them,  they  very  much 
hinder  their  own  recovery,  and  when  the  pain  is  over 
reflect  upon  themselves  for  not  having  been  braver.  It 
is  indeed  wonderful  what  can  be  done,  when  a  person 
makes  up  his  mind  to  grin  and  bear  it,  as  the  soldiers  say. 
I  have  marvelled  how  any  one  could  possibly  bear  up  un- 
der slow  cutting,  operations  or  accidents.  A  curious  in- 
stance, but  a  very  instructive  one,  occurred  to  me  somo 
years  ago,  before  chloroform  was  invented.  A  large, 
well-made,  healthy  seaman  was  brought  into  the  hospital 
with  his  leg  so  terribly  crushed  that  it  was  necessary  to 
take  it  off  some  distance  above  the  knee.  I  said  to  him, 
"  Jack,  I  am  very  sorry  to  have  to  tell  you,  that  the  only 
thing  which  can  be  done  with  this  unfortunate  leg  is  to 
1* 


10  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

take  it  off;  we  cannot  save  it,  you  know  we  cannot  splice 
it  or  fish  it  like  a  mast." 

"  No,"  he  replied,  "  I  can  see  that ;  well,  it  must  be 
done,  it  'ill  never  be  seaworthy  any  more ;  how  long  will 
it  take  doing  it  ?"  So  I  told  him  only  a  very  short  time. 
"  Oh,  well,"  he  said,  "  cut  the  wreck  adrift,  and  fit  a  tim- 
ber one,  I'll  bear  it." 

So  the  limb  was  taken  off  without  one  groan  or  one 
word  of  complaint.  But  as  the  house-surgeon  was  put- 
ting on  a  bandage,  he  accidentally  pricked  him  with  a 
pin,  when  he  immediately  cried  out,  "Hallo,  Mr.  Sur- 
geon, the  point  of  that  marling-spike's  rather  sharp,  that's 
too  bad." 

So  I  said,  "  Why  Jack,  how  is  this  ? — you  bore  having 
your  leg  taken  off  like  a  brave  fellow,  as  you  are,  without 
speaking  one  word,  and  now,  when  only  the  point  of  a 
pin  touches  you,  you  call  out  ?" 

"  Ah,  sir,"  he  said,  "  don't  you  see,  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  have  my  leg  cut  off?  I  told  you  I'd  bear  it,  but  I 
made  no  bargain  about  the  pin-sticking  business." 

This  is  a  most  excellent  example  of  what  I  mean  by 
"making  up  the  mind  to  bear  it."  But,  alas  for  us  poor 
men,  we  do  not  as  a  general  rule  bear  pain  well ;  we  are 
used  to  an  active,  busy,  out-of-door  life,  more  so  than 
women ;  we  are  apt  to  be  cross  when  suffering  or  com- 
pelled to  be  still,  and  need  a  good  deal  of  coaxing  and 
petting  to  behave  properly ;  but  let  us  try  our  best,  and 
if  we  meet  with  any  accident  to  which  man's  occupation 
makes  him  liable,  let  us  always  bear  in  mind  that  the 
most  terrible  accidents  which  tear  a  man  to  pieces  are 
not  the  most  painful.  The  larger  the  surface  burned  or 
scalded  the  less  the  pain,  and  the  diseases  which  cause  the 
greatest  suffering  are  not  by  any  means  the  most  fatal. 

Pain  is  in  every  case  the  result  of  something  being 
wrong  either  in  mind  or  body,  and  though  it  may  be  hard 


11 

Loa  Angeles^a'. 

to  bear,  it  is  not  entirely  an  evil.  It  is  a  merciful  provis- 
ion to  warn  us  of  danger,  or  to  tell  us  we  are  committing 
some  error.  If  a  child  puts  its  hand  into  the  flame  of  a 
candle,  the  pain  teaches  it  to  snatch  it  away  in  a  moment, 
before  it  has  time  to  do  serious  injury.  A  person 
using  a  knife,  and  cutting  into  the  finger,  is  instantlj* 
warned  to  stop,  he  is  doing  harm.  Or  suppose  the  cloth- 
ing of  a  very  aged  or  infirm  person  were  to  take  fire, 
when  left  alone  and  asleep,  the  cry  of  suffering  will 
bring  assistance,  whereas,  if  there  were  no  pain,  he  might 
be  burned  so  severely  as  to  cause  death,  and  not  be  aware 
of  what  was  going  on. 

One  other  remark,  and  I  finish  this  part  of  the  subject, 
and  this  I  address  particularly  to  husbands.  When  you 
feel  inclined  to  be  cross  and  think  yourself  very  badly 
used,  look  at  your  wife,  or  if  not  married,  look  upon  your 
mother,  and  reflect  that  each  time  a  child  was  born  she 
Buffered  an  agony  of  pain  such  as  you  can  have  no  con- 
ception of,  such  as  you  have  never  felt  and  never  can  feel. 
And  yet  in  a  few  minutes  after  this  anguish  she  will  greet 
you  with  a  sweet  smiling  countenance.  Let  us  do  our 
best,  and  in  our  time  of  suffering  let  us  be  gentle  and 
kind  to  those  who  are  doing  their  best  for  us.  A  great 
deal  may  be  done  by  trying. 

And  now  having  brought  patients  and  attendants  to- 
gether, I  will  endeavor  in  the  next  chapter  to  see  how 
they  can  best  employ  the  time  TILL  THE  DOCTOR  COMES. 

THE  SICK  ROOM. 

If  you  are  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  choice  of  rooms, 
do  not  put  your  patient  into  one  which  is  dark  and  gloomy, 
but  let  it  be  light  and  cheerful,  and  with  a  fireplace  if 
possible. 

If  the  illness  be  fever,  something  wrong  with  the  eyea 


12  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

or  brain,  or  other  sickness  requiring  quiet,  a  back  room 
away  from  the  family  will  answer  best ;  the  patient  will 
not  care  to  look  at  anything  or  to  speak  much,  and  quiet 
is  necessary.  But  if  he  be  suffering  from  an  accident,  let 
him  be  near  the  rest  of  the  family  where  you  can  speak  to 
him.  This  will  help  to  keep  him  contented  and  cheerful, 
for  it  will  be  an  amusement  to  him  to  watch  your  move- 
ments while  you  are  going  on  with  your  work,  and  it  will 
save  time  in  waiting  upon  him. 

Avoid  a  room  which  is  exposed  to  disagreeable  effluvia 
from  any  source. 

Never  have  the  window  so  fastened  that  you  cannot 
open  it,  especially  from  the  top.  Be  careful  not  to  have 
much  furniture  in  the  room,  particularly  if  the  disease  be 
infectious.  Bear  in  mind  that  woollen  articles  hold  smells 
much  longer  than  cotton  or  linen,  therefore  do  not  have 
woollen  curtains.  It  is  better  to  have  no  curtains  at  all, 
but  if  you  think  the  room  looks  bare  and  cheerless  use 
light  muslin,  or  something  which  will  easily  wash. 

Have  no  woollen-covered  sofa  or  chairs ;  cane-bottomed 
or  plain  wood  are  preferable,  and  a  clean  boarded  floor, 
kept  sweet  by  scrubbing  and  elbow-grease,  is  infinitely 
better  without  any  carpet,  excepting,  perhaps,  a  narrow 
strip  for  you  to  walk  upon  just  to  prevent  noise.  In  case 
of  accident,  the  bed  may  be  placed  where  the  patient  feels 
most  comfortable,  only  it  should  be  where  there  is  a  good 
light  to  see  and  dress  the  wound ;  but  in  fever  and  small- 
pox let  it  be  between  the  door  and  the  fireplace.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  as  the  fire  cannot  burn  without  air 
there  must  be  a  draught  to  feed  it,  and  as  this  becomes 
heated  and  rushes  up  the  chimney,  it  is  replaced  by  a  fresh 
supply  drawn  in  through  the  door  and  window.  In  this 
way  the  chimney  acts  as  a  ventilating  shaft,  carrying  away 
the  impurities  of  the  room,  and  so  helps  to  prevent  the 
disease  spreading.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  if  a  person 


THE   SICK   EOOM.  13 

stands  between  the  bed  and  the  fireplace,  he  must  get  the 
air  after  it  has  been  contaminated  by  passing  over  the  pa- 
tient ;  whereas,  on  the  other  side — that  is,  between  the  bed 
and  the  door — he  breathes  the  air  pure.  If  from  the  form 
of  the  room  the  bed  cannot  be  placed  in  this  position,  let 
there  always  be  sufficient  space  left  between  the  window 
and  the  bed  to  stand  in. 

If  the  room  has  not  been  used  for  some  time,  do  not 
put  the  patient  into  it  until  you  have  lit  the  fire  and  seen 
if  the  chimney  draws  well.  If  it  be  damp  and  cold,  most 
likely  it  will  not,  and  it  is  too  late  to  discover  this  after 
the  sufferer  is  put  to  bed.  I  remember  an  instance  where 
an  old  gentleman  was  taken  suddenly  ill  with  a  chest  com- 
plaint ;  he  was  carefully  placed  in  bed,  a  blister  put  on  the 
chest,  and  medicine  given  to  promote  perspiration.  This 
was  just  at  the  commencement  of  winter,  and  a  fire  was  re- 
quired, but  on  endeavoring  to  kindle  it,  every  particle  of 
smoke  seemed  to  pour  into  the  room.  In  a  few  minutes  it 
was  filled ;  my  poor  patient,  with  the  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing from  the  disease  and  the  smoke  combined,  was  in  a 
miserable  plight.  Doors  and  windows  had  to  be  thrown 
wide  open,  and  then,  to  complete  the  confusion,  a  poor 
terrified  swallow,  which  had  built  its  nest  in  one  of  the 
flues,  forced  its  way  down  the  chimney,  its  feathers  of 
course  covered  with  soot.  The  poor  bird,  so  rudely  dis- 
turbed out  of  its  sleep,  dashed  wildly  about  the  room, 
leaving  plenty  of  black  marks  against  walls,  if  not  also 
against  our  characters  for  our  want  of  forethought.  A 
smoky  chimney  may  often  be  cured  by  holding  a  lighted 
newspaper  a  little  way  up  the  flue.  This  warms  the  air 
and  causes  it  to  ascend. 

As  to  the  bed  itself.  The  best  is  no  doubt  a  hair  mat- 
tress, but  as  this  is  so  expensive,  I  shall  merely  say  if  you 
have  pne,  use  it,  but  unless  you  are  obliged,  do  not  use 
one  made  of  feathers.  It  is  too  soft,  and  the  patient  sinks 


14  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

into  holes,  so  that  in  case  of  wounds  or  burns  you  cannot 
get  to  them  properly.  Besides,  if  the  feathers  get  wet 
you  cannot  put  them  right  again.  Good  clean  straw  or 
chaff,  well  and  evenly  packed  in,  is  far  better.  It  costs 
much  less  to  begin  with,  it  is  more  comfortable,  and  very 
much  superior  in  point  of  health,  and  has  this  great  ad- 
vantage, that  in  case  of  being  spoiled  it  can  be  emptied, 
the  cover  washed  and  refilled  without  loss  of  time  and 
at  a  very  trifling  expense. 

It  is  a  disadvantage  to  have  the  bed  too  wide.  If  the 
patient  be  lying  in  the  middle  and  needs  help,  the  nurse 
is  obliged  to  lift  either  kneeling  on  the  bed  or  at  arm's 
length,  a  position  which  takes  away  all  her  strength  and 
causes  a  very  painful  strain  on  the  muscles.  If  you  are 
obliged  to  use  a  wide  bed,  a  good  plan  is  to  make  a  divis- 
ion down  the  middle  with  a  board  a  few  inches  high  cov- 
ered with  the  under  bedclothes.  This  not  only  prevents 
the  invalid  slipping  away  from  you  but  answers  the  pur- 
pose in  some  degree  of  two  beds. 

When  you  want  to  change  the  bedclothes,  and  the  pa- 
tient cannot  get  up,  proceed  in  this  way :  roll  up  the  clothes 
to  be  changed  tightly  to  the  middle,  lengthwise,  not 
across  the  bed ;  put  on  the  clean  things  with  half  the  width 
rolled  up  close  to  the  other  roll,  lift  the  patient  on  to  the 
newly  made  part,  slip  off  the  clothes  he  has  just  been  lift- 
ed from,  unroll  the  clean  ones,  and  it  is  finished  without 
any  difficulty. 

If  you  have  time  before  you  put  the  patient  to  bed 
scour  the  floor  right  well,  and  wash  it  with  hot  water,  with 
a  few  cents'  worth  of  chloride  of  lime  mixed  with  it,  or  if 
you  cannot  get  this,  use  a  good-sized  piece  of  quicklime, 
and  rub  well  up  into  the  cracks  and  corners.  Do  not  be 
anxious  to  remove  the  whole  of  the  lime.  If  you  leave  a 
little  sticking  in  the  crevices  and  pores  of  the  wood  it  will 
prevent  insects,  give  a  clean,  sweet  srnel)  to  the  place,  and 


NURSES   AND   NURSING.  15 

help  to  keep  away  infection.     Now  dry  it  thoroughly,  and 
the  room  is  ready  for  the  invalid. 

NURSES  AND  NURSING. 

It  is  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  only  women  can 
nurse.  I  have  frequently  met  with  men,  particularly  hus- 
bands, who  have  been  quite  as  gentle  in  their  touch,  quite 
as  thoughtful  about  little  wants,  and  far  more  tender  and 
considerate  than  almost  any  woman.  A  man's  strength 
is  a  great  advantage.  Ask  a  wife  who  requires  lifting 
from  the  bed,  and  she  will  tell  you  what  a  comfort  it 
was  to  feel  her  husband's  strong  arms  under  her :  she  felt 
so  safe.  It  is  a  dreadful  feeling  for  a  patient  not  to  have 
perfect  confidence  in  the  power  of  the  person  assisting ; 
the  dread  of  being  let  fall  may  give  a  fright  which  will 
take  days  to  recover  from.  Let  every  man  put  away  the 
foolish  idea  that  it  is  only  a  woman's  work. 

Now  there  are  five  qualifications  which  we  require  in  a 
nurse — Sobriety,  Cleanliness,  Firmness,  Gentleness,  and 
Patience. 

Sobriety. — All  I  shall  say  on  this  point  is,  if  unfortu- 
nately you  cannot  resist  temptation,  do  not  come  near 
us — the  sick  room  is  no  place  for  you,  we  dare  not  trust 
you. 

Cleanliness. — Be  always  very  clean  yourself,  and  keep 
the  room  sweet.  A  very  little  thing  will  spoil  the  appe- 
tite of  a  person  already  sick.  Never  let  anything  offen- 
sive, any  dressings  from  a  wound  or  burn,  remain  in  the 
room.  Let  every  vessel  be  emptied  as  soon  as  it  is  done 
with,  well  washed  out,  and  left  in  the  open  air.  Change 
the  air  frequently  by  opening  the  window ;  remember,  bad 
air  will  poison  a  person  as  surely  as  bad  food.  The  poi- 
son of  fever  is  dangerous  or  not  according  as  you  weaken 
it  with  fresh  air — just  as  you  make  spirit  weaker  by  add 


16  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

ing  water.  Do  not  leave  food  in  a  room  if  the  patient 
cannot  cat  it.  Do  not  let  the  drinking  water  stand  long 
without  being  changed,  as  it  absorbs  whatever  gases  there 
are  in  the  room ;  so  that  when  the  patient  drinks  it  you 
are  actually  putting  back  into  his  stomach  the  poison  which 
had  been  thrown  out  through  the  skin.  Why  do  people 
put  buckets  of  water  into  a  place  newly  painted  ? — because 
they  know  that  the  water  takes  up  the  smell  of  turpentine 
and  oil  as  it  escapes  from  the  walls. 

Firmness, — Remember  firmness  is  not  rudeness.  You 
cannot  expect  a  suffering  patient  to  know  as  well  what  is 
best  for  him  as  those  whose  brains  are  clear.  Therefore 
if  a  certain  thing  is  best  to  be  done,  do  it ;  do  it  kindly, 
but  do  it,  he  will  thank  you  for  it  afterwards. 

Gentleness. — Whatever  you  have. to  do  for  the  patient, 
be  gentle.  In  cases  of  rheumatism  or  broken  limbs  you 
must  change  the  clothes,  however  painful  the  process,  but 
do  it  gently,  and  cause  no  needless  suffering.  With  care 
all  jerks  and  knocks  may  be  avoided.  And  lastly, 

Patience. — Never  forget  the  difference  between  your- 
self and  the  person  under  your  care.  Did  you  never 
yourself  feel  irritable  and  restless  even  when  you  were 
well  ?  Have  there  not  been  some  days  when  you  had 
been  so  easily  put  out,  so  cross  that  you  have  been  al- 
most ashamed  of  yourself?  How,  then,  must  it  be  with 
the  person  taken  suddenly  from  an  active  life  and  com- 
pelled to  lie  still  in  one  position,  or  with  one  whose  whole 
body  is  racked  with  pain !  Never  lose  patience,  however 
sorely  tried ;  bear  with  these  trials  for  a  while,  and  by- 
and-by  you  will  have  your  reward. 

Few  people  are  aware  of  the  great  value  of  a  good  nurse, 
or  of  the  number  of  valuable  lives  saved  by  good  nurs- 
ing. On  the  other  hand,  few  are  aware  of  the  number  of 
lives  actually  thrown  away,  and  their  chance  of  recovery 
lost,  by  the  want  of  faithful,  careful  nursing.  Every  doo- 


NURSES   AND   NURSING. 


tor  can  tell  you  how  he  has  been  disappointed,  vexed, 
and  his  best  efforts  rendered  useless  by  want  of  knowl- 
edge, and  that  stupid  obstinacy  which  almost  always 
go  hand  in  hand  with  ignorance.  He  will  also  tell  you 
that  it  was  the  honest,  sensible  nurse  who  savfri  his  pa- 
tient by  faithfully  carrying  out  his  directions. 

It  is  not  every  one  who  is  fit  for  a  nurse  ;  not  because 
they  wilfully  do  wrong,  but  they  are  not  cut  out  for  it. 
Nursing  is,  in  a  great  measure,  a  natural  gift,  either  in 
man  or  woman  ;  just  as  music,  painting,  and  other  things 
are.  There  are  many  good-hearted  yet  thoughtless  peo- 
ple who,  with  all  the  training  in  the  world,  would  never 
make  good  handy  nurses. 

The  French  have  a  saying  that  "  Some  people's  fin- 
gers are  all  thumbs,"  —  what  we  should  call  awkward  peo- 
ple, people  who  are  everlastingly  getting  into  some  trou- 
ble. Here  is  one  of  them.  If  she  is  going  up-stairs  with 
her  hands  full,  she  steps  on  to  the  bottom  of  her  dress, 
and  either  drops  what  she  is  carrying  or  goes  down  her- 
self. If  the  fire  wants  coal,  she  throws  on  a  whole  scut- 
tleful,  a  good  part  of  which  comes  thundering  down  on 
the  fender,  and  terrifies  the  poor  patient  so  that  he  will 
not  be  at  rest  for  hours  ;  or  she  has  a  hole  in  her-  dress, 
or  a  bit  of  braid  loose,  which  catches  the  end  of  the  fire- 
irons  as  she  passes,  and  rattles  them  down.  If  she  is  of 
an  age  to  wear  caps,  she  will  have  the  strings  so  long  that 
when  she  stoops  over  the  patient  to  catch  his  whisper, 
the  ends  will  tickle  his  face.  You  will  generally  find  at 
least  one  of  her  fingers  bound  up  with  rag  tied  on  with 
black  cotton.  If  a  little  bread  and  butter  is  wanted,  she 
will  be  sure  to  fix  upon  the  knife  that  has  been  used  for 
peeling  onions.  If  there  be  any  cookery  going  on  in  the 
next  room,  you  may  feel  pretty  sure  the-  door  will  be  left 
open,  so  that  a  good  strong  smell  of  frying  bacon,  or 
whatever  it  may  be,  will  fill  the  patient's  room,  making 


18  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

him  feel  quite  sick ;  and  then  she  will  be  grieved  because 
he  says  he  can't  eat  a  morsel  of  food.  Suppose  he  wishes 
for  a  glass  of  water;  she  first  of  all  fills  it  up  to  the 
brim,  puts  her  hand  under  his  head,  bends  his  neck  till  his 
chin  touches  his  breast,  then  puts  the  glass  to  his  lips, 
trickles  a  good  part  of  it  on  to  his  clothes,  and  thinks  he 
is  very  awkward  to  choke  over  a  mouthful  of  water.  If 
she  has  occasion  to  light  a  candle,  she  sticks  it  in  between 
the  bars,  which  soon  fills  the  room  with  a  rank  smell  of 
burning  fat,  and  when  she  takes  it  out  the  tallow  is  melt- 
ed off,  till  the  wick  is  a  couple  of  inches  long,  and  coated 
over  with  fine  ash  like  the  head  of  a  bulrush  ;  or  if  it  be 
gas,  she  takes  a  short  bit  of  paper,  turns  the  gas  full  on, 
makes  a  sudden  blaze  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  forgets 
the  bit  of  paper  while  she  is  turning  the  gas  lower,  burns 
her  fingers,  throws  the  lighted  paper  on  the  floor,  and 
puts  her  foot  on  it.  The  patient,  watching  all  this,  gets 
so  nervous  and  frightened  that  he  loses  his  night's  rest. 
When  the  patient  is  sufficiently  well  to  sit  up  in  bed  to 
take  his  food,  she  will,  of  course,  put  the  tray  on  his 
knees,  then  proceed  to  raise  him  into  the  sitting  posture, 
and  if  the  things  are  not  upset  all  over  the  counterpane, 
it  is  certainly  more  by  good  luck  than  good  management. 

Yet  she  is  not  a  bad  woman,  but  certainly  she  is  a 
bad  nurse. 

Then  we  have  the  fussy  nurse.  I  know  a  most  kind- 
hearted,  loving  creature,  who  is  one  of  this  sort.  She 
wishes  so  much  to  benefit  her  patient  that  she  sadly  over- 
does it :  she  bustles  in  and  out  of  the  room  every  few  min- 
utes, wearies  her  patient  with  constantly  asking  him  if  he 
cannot  eat  something,  which  she  would  willingly  walk 
miles  to  get  if  wanted,  raising  him  up,  tucking  the  bed  in, 
drawing  up  and  lowering  the  blinds :  one,  in  short,  who 
never  can  be  happy  to  sit  down  quietly  and  wait  patiently, 
but  must  be  constantly  on  the  move ;  and  yet  it  is  her  very 


NURSES   AND   NURSING.  19 

goodness  which  makes  her  weary  the  patient,  till  he  says 
to  himself,  the  first  chance  he  has  of  getting  her  out  of  the 
room,  "'You're  a  good  creature ;  but  if  you  would  only  be 
quiet,  what  a  relief  it  would  be !" 

Then  we  have  the  careless,  slovenly  nurse.  The  doctor 
never  feels  sure  that  his  patient  has  really  had  the  proper 
quantity  of  medicine ;  if  she  happened  to  remember  it  he 
would  get  it,  but  if  not  she  would  make  up  for  it  by  giving 
him  a  double  dose  next  time.  There  is  never  a  clean  glass 
or  cup  when  wanted.  Food  is  taken  to  him,  and  if  he 
cannot  eat  it,  it  is  left  there  for  hours.  There  are  so  many 
crumbs  in  the  bed  that  it  feels  to  the  poor  rheumatic  suffer- 
er like  lying  on  a  gravel  walk.  The  fire  is  black,  and  the 
hearth  covered  with  cinders.  The  slops,  which  ought  to 
have  been  removed  in  the  evening,  are  hid  under  the  bed, 
filling  the  room  with  bad  smells.  Bits  of  meat,  crumbs 
of  potatoes,  and  other  matters,  are  let  fall  on  the  floor  and 
left  there :  the  consequence  is,  that  being  winter,  the  mice, 
and  perhaps  rats,  finding  a  warm  room  and  something  to 
cat,  think  it  a  very  comfortable  place,  and  use  it  accord- 
ingly, which  proves  anything  but  comforting  to  the  help- 
less creature  in  bed,  who  has  not  power  to  raise  his  arms, 
nor  sufficient  strength  to  awaken  the  nurse. 

Then  we  have  the  cruel  nurse,  who  does  her  duty,  but 
not  from  love :  she  carries  out  the  doctor's  orders  exactly. 
Her  law  is  like  that  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which 
altereth  not ;  if  the  medicine  has  to  be  taken  at  a  certain 
time,  she  brings  it  to  the  minute,  and  worries  the  patient 
into  taking  it  on  the  instant.  If  she  says  the  bedclothes 
must  be  changed,  and  the  patient  says  it  hurts  him  sa 
much  to  be  moved,  she  answers,  "  Can't  help  that,  the  doc- 
tor said  it  was  to  be  done,  and  I  can't  go  against  his  or- 
ders." She  may  be  perfectly  honest  in  all  her  dealings, 
but  there  is  no  tenderness,  no  compassion. 

And  lastly,  we  have  what  I  trust  is  a  very  rare  char- 


20  TELL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

acter,  th  dishonest  nurse.  She  drinks  most  of  the  wine, 
and  eats  pretty  freely  of  the  food  intended  foj  the  sick 
person,  and  tells  the  doctor  the  patient  ought  to  get  bet- 
ter according  to  the  quantity  of  noui'ishment  he  gets 
through.  But  she  is  dishonest  in  another  way :  she  finds 
it  a  great  trouble  to  compel  the  patient  to  take  the  med- 
icine, so  she  just  empties  it  away  a  regular  dose  at  a 
time,  so  that  whenever  the  doctor  happens  to  call,  his  eye 
rests  on  the  bottle,  he  sees  it  is  gradually  becoming  empty, 
and  feels  satisfied. 

Now  these  are  not  characters  I  have  heard  of  or  read 
of,  but  every  one  of  them  has  been  with  me  in  the  sick 
room.  The  awkward  nurse  has  been  carrying  a  trayful  of 
things,  caught  her  foot  in  a  bit  of  carpet,  and  made  a 
smash.  I  have  seen  the  careless  nurse  snatch  a  child  out 
of  bed  with  its  skin  wet  with  perspiration,  and  set  it  on  a 
chair  with  no  extra  covering,  and  make  the  bed.  I  had 
once  a  little  patient  so  ill  as  to  require  a  blister  on  the 
chest.  I  put  it  on  myself,  and  then  left  him  in  charge  of 
one  who  turned  out  to  be  a  careless  nurse.  When  I  called 
the  next  day,  I  found  he  had  been  so  neglected,  that  in- 
stead of  its  being  confined  to  the  chest,  he  had  worked  it 
round  to  his  back,  where  it  was  left  hours  longer  than  it 
should  have  been,  causing  such  a  sore  that  the  poor  little 
boy  could  not  lie  on  his  back  for  a  week  afterwards.  I 
had  an  instance  of  a  dishonest  nurse,  who  broke  the  bot- 
tle containing  the  medicine,  filled  another  with  sugar-and- 
water,  and  put  the  label  on  it.  Fortunately  for  her  the 
child  did  not  die,  or  her  reflections  would  not  have  been 
at  all  pleasant. 

It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  that  a  person  wishing  to 
help  the  doctor  should  be  highly  educated.  She  must, 
however,  possess  the  qualification  of  "common  sense." 
This  sort  of  sense,  however,  is  not  by  any  means  common. 
It  is '  the  knowledge  of  common  and  e very-day  affairs. 


NURSES   AND   NURSING.  21 

The  helper  should  be  able  to  read  writing  and  to  write  fit 
for  reading,  or  she  may  be  led  by  the  appearance  of  drugs 
and  vials  to  make  dreadful  mistakes.  She  ought  also  to 
have  all  her  five  senses  in  a  healthy,  active  condition — 
sight,  hearing,  feeling,  smell,  taste. 

Sight,  that  she  may  be  able  to  read  directions,  or  read 
aloud  to  the  patient,  and  watch  the  change  of  countenance. 
A  quick-sighted  nurse  will  not  need  to  wait  till  the  suffer- 
er has  asked  for  anything  in  words.  She  will  from  the 
motion  of  an  eye,  or  the  lips,  or  a  finger,  see  in  a  moment 
what  is  wanted.  Hearing,  that  she  may  catch  the  faint- 
est whisper,  and  not  oblige  a  weak  patient  to  exert  the 
voice,  and  to  repeat  every  request.  Feeling,  that  she  may 
detect  any  change  in  the  heat  or  dryness  of  the  skin  of  the 
patient,  and  not  use  any  application  which  will  either  scald 
with  heat,  or  cause  a  chill  with  cold.  Smell,  that  she  may 
detect  the  least  impurity  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  room, 
or  in  giving  medicine  notice  if  there  be  any  mistake.  Taste, 
that  she  may  not  offer  food  unfit  to  be  used,  or  good  in 
itself,  but  cooked  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  disgusting  to  the 
patient. 

Now  if  she  possesses  these  qualities,  she  will  very  soon, 
with  a  little  instruction,  be  able  to  "help  the  doctor." 
But  there  is  one  caution  required  here :  she  must  not  have 
such  a  very  high  opinion  of  her  own  skill/ as  to  cause  her 
to  use  it  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  doctor.  She 
is  at  pei-fect  liberty  to  suggest  anything  she  likes.  We 
have  no  objection  to  her  saying,  "  Don't  you  think  such  a 
thing  would  do  good  ?"  or,  "  Don't  you  think  we  might 
safely  do  without  such  a  thing  ?  "  But  we  do  object  to 
her  asking  the  opinion  of  the  doctor,  and  then  acting  in 
opposition  to  it.  Because  if  he  is  fit  to  be  trusted  with 
the  life  of  a  fellow-creature,  he  ought  to  be  trusted,  and 
dealt  with  fairly. 


22  TILL   THE  DOCTOR   COMES. 

THE  MEDICINE  CHEST. 

In  cases  of  accident  or  sudden  sickness,  time  is  often 
of  the  utmost  importance.  A  very  simple  remedy  applied 
at  the  moment  may  often  save  a  long  illness.  It  is  there- 
fore desirable  to  have  ready  at  hand  whatever  is  likely  to 
be  wanted  in  a  hurry.  Get  a  small  box.  Keep  it  alwaya 
locked,  and  out  of  the  way  of  the  children.  Use  it  for 
medicines  and  for  nothing  else.  Let  it  stand  where  you 
can  lay  your  hand  upon  it  in  a  moment.  Do  not  have  too 
many  things  in  it,  or  they  will  confuse  you.  Just  put 
into  it  what  you  are  most  likely  to  want. 

A  roll  of  old  linen,  of  calico,  and  of  flannel,  the  older 
the  better,  but  clean  and  dry.  A  little  lint  and  some  stick- 
ing-plaster. The  calico  and  flannel  may  be  in  strips,  so  as 
to  serve  for  bandages.  Fasten  each  roll  with  a  pin. 

A  pair  of  scissors,  some  pins,  tape,  and  a  few  large 
needles  ready  threaded. 

Some  castor  oil,  syrup  of  ipecac,  paregoric,  turpentine, 
genna  leaves,  Epsom  salts,  carbonate  of  soda,  a  small  bot- 
tle of  laudanum,  marked-poisosr,  and  a  pint  bottle  of  lin- 
seed-oil and  lime-water. 

I  have  not  put  simple  ointment  into  this  list,  because  it 
will  not  keep  good,  and  a  little  clean  lard  will  do  as  well. 
Nor  have  I  named  mustard,  because  it  soon  loses  its 
strength,  and  turpentine  will  serve  the  same  purpose,  is 
very  quickly  and  easily  applied,  and  if  well  corked  will 
keep  good  for  a  long  while. 

Then  we  want  a  measuring-glass.  Nearly  all  liquid 
medicine  is  given  by  "  spoonfuls."  Now  a  "  spoon  "  is  a 
very  uncertain  measure,  and  differs  in  size ;  therefore 
better  buy  a  glass  marked  correctly,  teaspoons  on  the  one 
side  and  tablespoons  on  the  other. 

Lastly,  a  feeding-cup.  In  cases  of  broken  thigh,  and 
some  other  illnesses,  the  patient  cannot  be  raised,  and  it  is 


THE   MEDICINE   GUEST. 


23 


impossible  to  give  liquids  with  any  degree  of  comfort 
while  lying  down.  I  have  myself  known  a  case,  lately, 
of  a  lady,  who  was  in  a  very  weak  state,  being  raised,  in 
opposition  to  the  orders  of  the  doctor,  as  the  nurse  said, 
"just  for  a  minute,  to  give  her  a  drink ;"  but  that  minute 
did  all  the  mischief,  for  her  heart  had  not  power  to  con- 
tinue its  work  in  that  position :  it  stopped,  and  she  fell 
,back  dead.  If  you  have  not  one  of  these  cups,  a  small 
tea-pot,  or  anything  with  a  narrow  spout,  will  answer. 
If  the  poor  sufferer,  parched  with  fever,  is  crying  out 
piteously,  as  they  frequently  do,  "  Oh,  please  give  me  a 
big  drink"  get  a  clean  straw,  bend  one  end  of  it  gently 
into  the  glass,  and  the  other  into  the  mouth.  This  you 
can  always  get  easily  in  the  country, — but  the  best  thing 
for  the  purpose  is  about  a  foot  of  small  india-rubber  tub- 
ing, such  as  is  used  for  infants'  feeding-bottles.  It  costs 
about  eight  cents,  can  be  bent  in  any  direction,  is  not 
easily  broken,  and  will  last  for  years. 

In  some  cases  it  is  desirable  to  give  only  a  small  quan- 
tity of  fluid  at  a  time  ;  and  not  only  with  children,  but 
adults,  it  is  a  painful,  tantalizing  thing  to  offer  a  drink, 
and  insist  upon  the  patient  taking  only  a  portion  of  it,  or 
to  make  the  quantity  appear  smaller  by  putting  it  into  a 
large  glass.  This  may  be  entirely  avoided  by  having  a 
cup  or  glass  to  hold  just  what  may  be  taken.  You  will 
find  by  experience  that  a  child  who  could  not  by  any 
amount  of  argument  be  induced  to  leave  part  of  what  is 
in  the  glass,  or  be  put  off  with  a  few  spoonfuls  in  a  large 
one,  will  be  quite  contented  and  happy  if  you  let  it  have 
its  own  particular  glass  quite  full,  and  with  liberty  to 
drink  it  all,  though  it  perhaps  does  not  contain  as  much 
as  what  appeared  such  a  very  small  allowance  in  a  larger 
vessel. 

The  cost  of  the  whole  of  our  stock  will  be  only  a  few 
shillings.  Prices  vary  according  to  where  you  make 


24  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

your  purchases;  but  do  not  confound  low  price  and 
cheapness  together.  They  are  very  different,  especially 
in  important  things  like  medicines.  If  you  insist  upon 
paying  a  very  low  price  for  an  article,  you  drive  the  sel- 
ler to  give  you  either  what  is  kept  till  it  has  deteriorated, 
or  what  is  adulterated.  I  will  tell  you  an  anecdote.  I 
was  writing  a  prescription  in  a  chemist's  shop,  when  a 
child  came  in  with  a  small  packet  in  her  hand,  and  said, 
"  Please,  mister,  mother  says  you've  cheated  her  shame- 
ful with  this  magnesia,  she  can  get  twice  as  much  for  a 
penny  at  the  other  druggist's."  So  he  gave  her  double 
the  quantity,  and  said  to  her,  "Be  sure  to  tell  your 
mother  that  the  other  was  stronger,  and  so  I  gave  her 
less  of  it."  When  she  was  gone,  he  said  to  me,  "  Now 
here  is  difficult  case.  You  doctors  blame  us  for  not  sell- 
ing pure  drugs.  I  gave  her  as  much  pure  magnesia  for 
her  penny  as  I  could  afford;  but  she  must  have  more 
bulk,  so  I  am  compelled  to  mix  a  quantity  of  chalk  with 
it ;  and  now  she  goes  away  boasting  that  she  has  taught 
the  druggist  a  lesson  not  to  try  to  cheat  people."  The 
consequence  of  this  system  is,  that  if  the  patient  takes 
only  the  dose  the  doctor  ordered,  the  medicine  has  not 
the  proper  effect,  and  in  case  of  serious  illness  the  time 
for  doing  good  may  be  gone  by,  and  a  life  be  lost  in  con- 
sequence. 

You  must  be  very  careful  about  the  size  of  the  dose, 
especially  if  you  give  it  without  a  doctor's  orders.  Medi- 
cine given  at  random  is  as  likely  to  kill  as  to  cure. 

Almost  all  medicines  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, 
. — one  in  which  the  dose  seems  to  be  stored  up,  to  accu- 
mulate in  the  system,  and  where  the  quantity  taken  must 
be  gradually  decreased.  In  the  other  class,  the  body  ap- 
pears to  get  used  to  the  medicine,  it  loses  its  effect,  and 
the  dose  has  to  be  gradually  increased.  Of  this  class  ia 
opium.  If  it  be  taken  regularly  for  a  length  of  time, 


BURNS   AND   SCALDS.  25 

the  quantity  which  at  first  was  sufficient  to  remove  the 
pain  has  to  be  increased  to  such  an  extent,  that  if  it  were 
taken  at  the  commencement  "before  the  apprenticeship 
were  gone  through,  it  would  certainly  produce  death; 
or  if  the  patient  who  has  taken  it  for  a  length  of  time 
gives  it  up  for  a  season  and  returns  to  a  full  dose,  it  will 
prove  dangerous.  A  case  which  should  be  a  warning  to 
all  who  are  in  charge  of  the  sick  occurred  lately.  A 
gentleman  who  suffered  from  a  very  painful  nervous  dis- 
ease, had  prescribed  for  him  a  medicine  containing  a  prep- 
aration of  opium.  He  was  watched  over  by  a  kind  and 
affectionate  wife,  who  in  every  case  carefully  measured 
the  dose  and  administered  it  herself.  After  taking  it  for 
some  weeks  in  gradually  increased  quantities,  the  com- 
plaint left  him,  and  he  discontinued  the  medicine.  Some 
time  after  this  the  pain  returned  suddenly  in  the  night ; 
his  wife  measured  out  and  gave  him  the  same  quantity  at 
which  he  left  off.  He  soon  fell  into  a  deep  sleep,  from 
which  he  never  awakened.  Now  the  lesson  which  thia 
ought  to  teach  is  this:  when  you  have  to  give  for  a 
length  of  time  a  medicine  containing  any  preparation  of 
opium,  or  any  other  soothing  drug,  which  is  intended  to 
relieve  pain  and  procure  sleep,  give  it  up  for  a  season  and 
return  to  it,  do  not  begin  again  with  the  quantity  at 
which  you  left  off,  but  with  the  dose  you  gave  at  the 
commencement  of  the  illness. 


BURNS  AND  SCALDS. 

These  are  constantly  occurring,  not  only  in  poor  families, 
but  in  every  class  of  society.  The  number  of  children  who 
die  from  these  causes  is  dreadful ;  but  when  we  consider 
the  love  of  playing  with  fire  common  to  children,  the  absurd 
and  dangerous  fashion  of  having  the  dress  swelled  out 
with  crinoline  when  cooking  or  doing  anyttiing  near  a 
2 


26  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

fire,  the  careless  manner  in  which  lucifer  matches  are  car« 
ried  loose  in  pockets  and  dropped  on  to  floors,  or  the  way 
in  which  hot  liquids  are  placed  in  the  way  of  children,  the 
wonder  is  that  they  do  not  happen  more  frequently. 

Putting  out  tJie  Fire. — Take  this  case,  a  description  of 
what  is  unfortunately  happening  every  day : — A  woman's 
clothes  take  fire ;  she  is  wrapped  in  flames ;  her  arms  and 
hands,  her  neck  and  face,  are  scorched  with  the  heat ;  her 
hair  is  in  a  blaze ;  the  smoke  is  suffocating  her.  She  be- 
comes utterly  confused,  and  rushes  to  and  fro,  so  creating 
a  current  of  air  which  increases  the  fire.  The  best  thing 
she  could  have  done  would  have  been  instantly  to  roll  up- 
on the  floor.  But  how  few  would  have  presence  of  mind 
to  do  this !  The  more  need  for  a  friend  to  do  it  for  her. 
Seize  her  by  the  hand,  or  by  some  part  of  the  dress  which  is 
ot  burning,  and  throw  her  on  the  ground.  Slip  off  a  coat 
or  shawl,  a  bit  of  carpet,  anything  you  can  snatch  up 
quickly,  hold  this  before  you,  clasp  her  tightly  with  it, 
which  will  protect  your  hands.  As  quickly  as  possible 
fetch  plenty  of  water ;  make  everything  thoroughly  wet, 
for  though  the  flame  is  out,  there  is  still  the  hot  cinder 
and  the  half-burnt  clothing  eating  into  the  flesh ;  carry  her 
carefully  into  a  warm  room,  lay  her  on  a  table  or  on  a 
carpet  on  the  floor — not  the  bed — give  her  some  warm  stim- 
ulating drink,  send  for  the  doctor,  and  proceed  to  tho 
next  operation — 

Removing  the  clothes. — Perhaps  in  the  whole  course  of 
accidents  there  is  not  one  which  requires  so  much  care 
and  gentleness  as  this.  We  want  only  three  people  in  the 
room — one  on  each  side  of  the  patient,  and  one  to  wait 
upon  them.  Oh,  for  a  good  pair  of  scissors  or  a  really 
sharp  knife !  What  misery  you  will  inflict  upon  the  suffer- 
er by  sawing  through  strings,  etc.,  with  a  rough-edged 
blunt  knife.  There  must  be  no  dragging  or  p  ailing  off; 
do  not  let  the  hope  of  saving  anything  influence  you.  Let 


BCBNS   AND   SCALDS.  27 

everything  be  so  completely  cut  loose  that  it  will  fall  off; 
but  if  any  part  stick  to  the  body,  let  it  remain,  and  bo 
careful  not  to  burst  any  blisters. 

Treatment. — The  treatment  of  burns  or  scalds  in  the 
first  stage  consists  of  wet,  warm,  but  not  sour  applications, 
and  excluding  the  air. 

Now  our  medicine-chest  comes  into  use.  Get  out  the 
old  linen  or  calico ;  wet  a  piece  of  this  well  with  the  lin- 
seed-oil and  lime-water,  and  as  soon  as  an  injured  part  is 
exposed,  put  this  on ;  cover  it  with  another  dry  rag  or 
flannel,  and  secure  it  with  a  bandage.  If  you  have  not 
the  mixture  of  oil  and  lime-water,  get  a  pint  of  hot  water 
and  milk  (equal  parts),  with  a  small  teaspoonful  of  car- 
bonate of  soda  in  it.  If  you  have  no  milk  at  hand,  use 
warm  water  with  plenty  of  common  soap  in  it ;  or  if  you 
have  no  soap,  use  plain  warm  water  with  the  carbonate 
of  soda,  or  a  little  morsel  of  common  washing  soda,  not 
more  than  the  size  of  a  small  hazel-nut,  to  a  pint  of  water, 
dissolved  in  it ;  but  whatever  you  use,  keep  the  parts 
thoroughly  wet  and  well  covered.  If  you  have  a  water- 
proof sheet  or  coat,  or  a  piece  of  oilcloth,  lay  this  over 
the  mattress,  and  then  a  blanket  over  it.  As  soon  as 
you  have  removed  all  the  clothing,  and  applied  the  dress- 
ings, lift  her  gently  into  bed,  and  cover  her  as  warmly  as 
possible.  In  after-dressings  large  surfaces  must  not  be 
exposed  to  the  air ;  either  leave  a  thin  covering  and  wet 
it  with  the  lotion,  or  if  you  are  using  an  ointment,  re- 
move only  a  small  portion  of  the  dressing  at  a  time,  have 
everything  in  readiness,  and  cover  again  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

If  there  be  much  pain  and  fretfulness,  you  may  safely 
give  to  an  adult  thirty  drops  of  laudanum  in  a  little  water, 
and  repeat  this  in  an  hour,  and  even  a  third  time  if  need- 
ful. To  a  child  ten  years  of  age  give  in  like  manner  only 
three  drops,  but  beware  of  giving  any  to  an  infant. 


28  TILL  THE   D()CTOK  COMES. 

You  must  not  attempt  to  manage  this  case  further  by 
yourselves.  You  have  now  done  your  best  for  her  till  tfw 
doctor  comes. 

When  you  read  an  account  of  one  of  these  dreadful  ac- 
cidents in  the  papers  which  has  ended  fatally,  you  will  al- 
most invariably  find  they  conclude  with  something  of  this 
kind — "  After  enduring  great  agony  for  some  hours,  death, 
relieved  her  from  her  sufferings."  Now,  it  may  be  a  great 
consolation  to  sorrowing  friends  to  know  positively,  that 
in  nearly  every  case  this  is  a  mere  newspaper  phrase,  and 
is  not  true.  Those  of  us  who  are  accustomed  to  see  these 
accidents  know  well  that  when  the  surface  injured  is  suffi- 
ciently large  to  cause  death,  there  is  not  much  suffering, 
the  person  seems  to  die  from  the  shock.  Friends  are  con- 
stantly deceived  by  this,  and  suppose  that  because  there 
is  not  much  pain,  and  the  patient  appears  calm  and  com- 
fortable, there  cannot  be  much  danger,  whereas  it  is  really 
the  absence  of  pain,  or  more  truly  the  want  of  power  to 
feel  pain,  which  constitutes  the  danger.  Especially  is  this 
the  case  with  a  child.  If  the  burn  be  large,  particularly 
on  the  chest,  and  the  little  one  remains  perfectly  quiet, 
utters  no  complaint,  sighs  deeply,  and  asks  frequently  for 
cold  water,  it  is  almost  certain  that  life  is  fast  drawing 
to  a  close. 

For  smaller  burns  use  the  same  remedies  till  the  in- 
flammation has  subsided,  or  as  people  say,  till  the  fire  is 
out ;  then  spread  some  simple  ointment  on  the  woolly  side 
of  lint,  and  dress  the  sores  with  it.  They  will  generally 
get  well  without  much*  trouble.  You  can  make  a  capital 
ointment  yourselves  of  common  whiting  (which  you  use 
for  polishing  tins)  and  lard  without  any  salt.  If  the  burn 
be  Small,  and  the  person  can  stay  indoors,  try  the  follow- 
ing recipe : — Take  chalk  (whiting)  and  linseed  or  common 
olive  oil,  and  mix  them  to  the  consistency  of  honey,  then 
add  vinegar  so  as  to  reduce  it  to  the  thickness  of  thin  syrup  j 


BURNS   AND   SCALDS.  29 

apply  with  a  soft  brash  or  feather,  and  renew  the  appli« 
cation  from  time  to  time.  Each  renewal  brings  fresh  re- 
lief and  a  most  grateful  coolness.  But  if  the  patient  is 
compelled  to  go  about,  you  can  use  the  ointment  at  once, 
or  dust  the  part  thickly  over  with  flour,  kept  on  with  rag 
and  bandage ;  but  I  am  greatly  in  favor  of  wet  applica- 
tions, as  they  do  not  stick  to  the  raw  surface,  which  is 
•-Qost  painfully  sensitive.  Unless  the  burn  or  scald  be 
very  small  you  will  almost  always  find  warm  dressings 
much  more  grateful  to  the  patient  than  cold. 

If  a  person  fall  into  lime,  use  vinegar  and  water  in- 
stead of,  or  rather  before,  the  other  dressings ;  and  if  any 
get  into  the  eye,  wash  it  well  with  weak  vinegar  and 
water.  But  if  oil  of  vitriol,  or  any  other  strong  acid,  has 
caused  the  burn,  apply  quickly  lime-water,*  chalk  or 
whiting  and  water,  carbonate  of  soda,  or  some  of  your 
common  washing  soda  and  water,  or  even  old  mortar 
and  water. 

If  a  burn  be  near  a  joint  or  on  the  face,  even  if  small, 
let  a  doctor  see  it,  and  do  not  be  in  any  hurry  about  hav- 
ing the  wound  healed.  Remember  that  with  all  the  care 
and  skill  which  can  be  used,  contractions  will  sometimes 
take  place.  The  danger  to  life  from  a  burn  or  scald  is  not 
in  proportion  to  its  severity,  but  to  its  extent — that  is,  a 
small  part,  such  as  a  hand,  or  a  foot,  or  a  face  may  bo 
burned  so  deeply  as  to  cripple  it  for  life,  and  yet  not  much 
endanger  the  general  health,  but  a  slight  amount  of  burn- 
ing, a  mere  scorching  over  two-thirds  of  the  body,  may 
prove  fatal. 

*  To  make  lime-water,  put  a  piece  of  unslacked  Tiime  the  size  ol 
a  very  large  walnut  into  a  common-sized  wine-bottle  full  of  cold 
water,  shake  it  up  a  few  times,  then  let  it  settle.  You  need  not 
fear  making  it  too  strong;  the  water  will  take  up  only  a  certain 
quantity  of  the  lime,  however  much  you  put  into  it. 


80  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

WOUNDS. 

These  arc  oi  various  kinds,  and  arc  generally  danger- 
ous from  their  position  more  than  from  their  size,  and  re- 
quire treatment  suitable  for  each  case. 

In  all  cuts,  before  you  begin  to  dress  them,  notice  the 
kind  of  bleeding.  If  the  blood  be  dark-colored  and  flow 
regularly,  you  will  be  able  to  manage ;  but  if  it  be  bright 
scarlet,  and  spurts  out  in  jets,  however  small  the  wound 
may  be,  send  at  once  for  the  doctor.  Do  not  forget  this ; 
it  is  very  important. 

If  the  cut  be  made  with  a  clean  knife  or  some  such 
weapon,  and  the  person  be  in  good  health,  it  will  gener- 
ally do  well.  Unless  the  bleeding  be  very  profuse,  do 
not  be  in  a  hurry  to  stop  it.  Wash  the  part  well  with 
cold  water,  dry  the  skin,  bring  the  edges  of  the  wound 
together,  and  keep  them  there  with  strips  of  sticking- 
plaster  ;  lay  a  little  dry  lint  on  the  cut,  and  secure  it  with 
a  bandage.  Perhaps  in  a  few  hours  you  will  find  it  a 
little  swelled  and  painful,  from  being  too  tight;  if  so, 
remove  the  bandage,  and  with  a  pair  of  scissors  cut 
through  the  plaster,  not  near  the  wound, — that  will  re- 
lieve it.  If  it  be  comfortable  after  this,  you  may  leave  it 
three  or  four  days ;  but  if  there  be  great  pain  and  red- 
uess,  soak  well  with  warm  water,  remove  all  the  dress- 
ings, and  let  the  doctor  take  charge  of  it. 

CUTS  ON  THE  HEAD  cannot  be  dressed  with  plaster, 
unless  you  shave  a  large  space,  and  in  small  injuries  this 
is  not  needful.  Cut  the  hair  very  close  just  round  the 
wound ;  after  washing  with  cold  water,  apply  a  fold  or 
two  of  wet  lint,  and  leave  it  there.  If,  however,  it  be- 
comes painful,  and  there  be  headache  and  the  face  flushed, 
hand  it  over  to  the  care  of  the  doctor. 

WOUNDS  FROM  SPLINTERS,  NAILS,  ETC.  —  Stabs  or 
wounds  from  splinters  of  wood  or  nails,  broken  glass,  or 


WOUNDS.  31 

from  wadding  or  shot  from  a  gun,  should  not  be  closed, 
but  rather  kept  open  with  a  poultice  or  water  dressings, 
BO  that  anything  in  the  wound  may  be  thrown  out. 
When  it  is  quite  clean  dress  it  as  a  common  cut.  When 
there  is  any  splinter  or  glass,  and  it  can  be  removed  easily, 
of  course  do  so  ;  but  much  poking  in  the  wound  will  do 
harm.  Take  it  to  a  doctor,  and  let  him  tell  you  whether 
it  is  better  to  cut  it  out  or  leave  it  to  nature. 

WOUNDS  ON  THE  SHIN,  where  there  is  scarcely  any 
flesh  covering  the  bone,  are  often  very  troublesome  to 
aged  people.  As  soon  as  possible  wet  a  few  folds  of  linen 
with  spirit — any  sort  of  spirit  will  do — lay  this  on  the 
wound,  and  keep  it  wet  for  three  or  four  hours ;  don't  be 
afraid  of  the  smarting,  it  will  soon  pass  off.  Then  dress  it 
with  simple  ointment  spread  on  lint.  If  the  person  can 
spare  the  time  to  sit  with  the  leg  up,  it  will  heal  in  a 
much  shorter  time  than  if  employed  in  walking  or  stand- 
ing. 

WOUNDS  CAUSED  BY  A  BLOW,  or  by  a  person  falling 
on  to  cinder  or  gravel,  must  be  treated  in  the  same  way 
as  a  splinter,  that  is,  by  poultice  or  warm  water  till  quite 
clean ;  but  if  the  person  is  compelled  to  go  out,  you  will 
find  nothing  so  useful  as  the  basilicon  ointment  spread  on 
lint :  this  will  keep  soft  and  moist  the  whole  day. 

If  any  of  the  little  ones  run  a  fish-hook  into  a  finger,  do 
not  attempt  to  draw  it  out  backward.  Cut  the  line  quite 
clear  from  it,  turn  the  point  upwards  and  push  it  through. 
Accidents  with  crochet-needles  are  constantly  occurring, 
and  if  one  be  pushed  deeply  into  the  flesh  you  had  bet- 
ter not  try  to  pull  it  out :  the  hook  at  the  point  will  tear 
and  inflame  the  part.  A  surgeon  with  proper  instruments 
will  take  it  out  safely  without  any  difficulty.  If  you 
should  be  at  a  great  distance  from  a  surgeon,  the  best 
thing  you  can  do  is, — first  be  quite  sure  which  side  the 
hook  is,  then  push  a  smooth  ivory  knitting-needle,  or 


32  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   OCMES. 

something  of  that  sort  down  the  wound  till  it  touches  the 
hook,  then  pull  out  both  together. 

BLEEl)ING,  AND  HOW  TO  STOP  IT. 

It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  cuts  about  the  head  aud 
face,  especially  the  nose,  bleed  profusely.  Many  a  mother 
has  had  a  terrible  fright  by  a  child  running  in  with  its 
clothes,  hands,  and  face  all  smeared  with  blood.  It  is  as- 
tonishing what  a  mess  a  child  will  manage  to  make  with 
a  spoonful  or  two  of  blood.  Try  to  keep  cool  and  collect- 
ed. You  will  find,  most  probably,  when  you  have  washed 
with  cold  water,  that  the  amount  of  injury  is  a  mere  tri- 
fle. If  it  is  difficult  to  stop  the  bleeding,  a  most  invalua- 
ble remedy,  and  one  you  will  find  in  almost  every  house, 
is  the  common  whiting  or  pipe-clay.  Put  a  thick  cover- 
ing of  either  of  these  on  the  wound,  then  a  bit  of  dry  lint, 
and  press  it  closely  for  a  few  minutes ;  let  what  sticks  to 
the  wound  remain  there,  and  cover  with  a  bit  of  plaster. 
A  troublesome  leech-bite  can  be  stopped  in  the  same  way, 
without  giving  the  child  any  pain. 

BLEEDING  FROM  THE  NOSE,  unless  it  goes  too  far,  need 
not  alarm  you ;  nay,  in  many  cases  may  prevent  something 
much  more  serious ;  but  when  it  requires  to  be  stopped, 
let  the  person  sit  upright,  bathe  the  neck  and  face  with 
cold  water,  and  if  you  can  get  a  little  alum,  dissolve  that 
in  water,  and  squirt  it  up  the  nostrils,  if  this  does  not  suc- 
rxjod,  send  for  the  doctor.  I  would  not  advise  you  to  plug 
the  nostrils,  for  unless  it  be  done  properly  you  may  think 
':he  bleeding  has  ceased,  whereas  it  is  only  finding  its 
way  to  the  top  of  the  throat,  and  being  swallowed. 

BLEEDING  FROM  A  WOUND  IN  AN  ARM  OR  LEG,  if  severe, 
must  be  stopped  by  pressure.  Make  a  pad  of  rag  a  good 
thickness,  place  this  on  the  part,  and  bind  a  handkerchief 
or  anything  of  that  sort  tightly  round  the  limb.  If  that 


BLEEDING,  AND   HOW   TO   STOP  IT.  #3 

be  not  sufficient,  slacken  it  a  little,  push  a  strong  stick  or 
a  large  fork  under  it,  and  twist  it  round ;  by  this  means 
you  can  get  any  amount  of  pressure.  If  the  wound  be  in 
the  wrist  or  arm,  let  it  be  held  up  over  the  head,  or  if  in 
the  leg  let  the  person  lie  down,  and  support  the  foot  on  a 
chair.  If  you  be  by  yourself  in  the  fields,  and  get  a  se- 
vere cut  with  a  scythe,  or  in  any  sudden  emergency,  such 
as  a  railway  accident,  use  the  remedy  which  has  saved 
many  a  life  on  the  field  of  battle, — take  a  handful  of  dry 
earth,  put  this  on  to  the  wound,  and  grasp  it  tightly,  till 
you  can  have  some  assistance. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  situations  in  which  to  man- 
age a  wound  is  about  the  wrist  or  thick  part  of  the  thumb, 
particularly  if  it  be  deep.  If  this  accident  should  occur 
when  near  a  surgeon  let  him  attend  to  it  directly,  but  if  not, 
lose  no  time  in  dressing  it  yourself.  Two  people  are  re- 
quired to  do  this  properly.  If  you  turn  your  hand  with 
the  palm  upwards,  and  lay  your  finger  on  the  wrist  a  lit- 
tle to  the  outer  side,  in  a  line  with  the  thumb,  you  will 
feel  the  pulse  beating ;  now  let  one  person  stand  along- 
side the  patient  (not  opposite  to  him)  take  hold  of  his  arm 
with  both  hands,  place  one  of  his  thumbs  on  this  spot,  but 
a  little  higher  up  the  arm  than  the  cut,  and  the  other  on 
the  little  finger  side,  and  press  firmly.  While  one  is  by 
this  plan  arresting  the  bleeding,  let  the  other  bring  the 
edges  of  the  wound  together,  place  over  it  a  thick  layer  \ 
of  whiting  or  pipe-clay,  or  a  large  table-spoonful  of  flour,  X 
or  if  away  from  home  common  clay,  than  a  pad  of  lint  or 
rag  of  any  description,  and  secure  this  in  its  place  with  a 
bandage  or  handkerchief,  so  put  on  as  to  press  firmly  on 
the  spot.  The  thumbs  may  now  be  removed,  but  the  hand 
must  not  be  allowed  to  hang  down.  If  the  blood  should 
continue  to  force  its  way  through,  you  must,  in  addition 
to  these  dressings,  lay  a  small  pad  on  the  artery  where 
you  felt  the  pulse,  and  keep  it  in  its  place  with  a  bandage, 
2* 


34  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

or  what  is  very  much  better,  a  strong  elastic  band,  if 
these  means  are  not  sufficient,  you  must  obtain  the.  assist- 
ance of  a  surgeon  at  once. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  every  one,  even  young  people, 
should  understand  that  in  all  cases  of  severe  bleeding,  be 
the  wound  ever  so  small,  the  only  thing  which  can  be  safe- 
ly depended  upon  is  pressure.  Three  youths  lately  were 
walking  through  some  fields,  when  one  of  them,  who  had 
an  open  knife  in  his  hand,  fell,  and  the  blade  was  forced 
into  his  thigh.  His  companions,  terrified  at  the  sight  of  the 
blood,  ran  off  to  procure  assistance,  while  the  unfortunate 
sufferer  did  his  best  by  holding  his  pocket-handkerchief  to 
the  wound.  Long  before  they  could  return  his  chance  of 
life  was  gone.  Here  was  a  fine  healthy  young  man  cut  off 
suddenly,  who  might  have  been  saved  by  the  most  simple 
contrivance.  Even  situated  as  they  were  in  the  open  fields, 
a  cork,  a  stone,  a  potatoe  cut  in  half,  a  handful  of  earth,  a 
bit  of  rag,  or  a  bunch  of  grass  rolled  up  into  a  ball,  and 
put  into  a  handkerchief  or  necktie,  or  a  stocking,  and 
tied  very  tightly  round  the  limb  so  as  to  press  upon  the 
wound,  would  have  arrested  the  bleeding,  or  at  any 
rate  have  lessened  it,  till  it  could  have  been  properly 
secured. 

This,  then,  is  a  good  rule,  and  may  serve  as  a  general 
one.  In  case  of  severe  bleeding,  press  your  finger  on  or 
into  the  bleeding  place  and  keep  it  there  till  you  can  have 
assistance. 

BLEEDING  INTO  THE  STOMACH,  or  VOMITING  BLOOD. — 
It  is  a  frightful  sight  to  see  a  person  vomit  a  quantity  of 
blood,  one  which  tries  the  nerves  severely,  but  is  not  al- 
ways so  dangerous  as  it  appears.  The  blood  is  of  a  dark 
color,  and  frequently  mixed  with  some  portion  of  food. 
Give  two  teaspoonsfuls  of  vinegar  or  lemon  juice,  and  one 
teaspoonful  of  Epsom  salts  in  a  wineg,lassful  of  cold  water, 
and  repeat  this  every  half-hour  till  the  bleeding  stops  or 


BLEEDING,  AND   HOW   TO   STOP   IT.  35 

the  doctor  comes.     Give  nothing  more,  excepting  very 
small  quantities  of  cold  water,  or  little  bits  of  cracked  ice. 

BLEEDING  FKOH  THE  LUNGS,  or  SPITTING  OP  BLOOD,  ia 
always  a  very  serious  affliction,  a  warning  which  must  not 
be  trifled  with.  You  will  know  that  it  does  not  come  from 
the  stomach,  by  being  coughed  up  rather  than  vomited, 
it  being  frothy,  a  bright  scarlet  color,  and  most  probably 
much  smaller  in  quantity.  Give  one  teaspoonful  of  vine- 
gar and  one  of  paregoric  in  a  little  cold  water,  and  repeat 
this  in  half  an  hour.  Sponge  the  chest  with  cold  vinegar 
and  water,  and  keep  the  shoulders  raised  by  pillows.  Do 
not  allow  the  person  to  talk  or  use  any  exertion. 

BLEEDING  FKOM  SLIGHT  CAUSES. — Some  persons  ha\o 
such  a  tendency  to  bleed,  that  even  the  smallest  cut  or 
scratch  endangers  life,  particularly  having  a  tooth  extract- 
ed. I  have  seen  persons  brought  very  near  death  from 
this  cause.  Such  people  should  always  mention  this  to  a 
dentist  when  they  have  a  tooth  drawn,  so  that  he  may 
be  prepared.  If  you  meet  with  a  case  of  this  sort,  get  a 
little  whiting,  or  pipe-clay,  or  powdered  chalk,  roll  this 
up  in  a  bit  of  lint,  like  a  cork,  dip  this  in  spirits  of  turpen- 
tine, and  press  it  firmly  into  the  hole  left  by  the  tooth. 
If  it  does  not  stop  the  bleeding  in  fifteen  minutes,  change 
this  plug  for  a  fresh  one,  and  press  that  in  steadily.  Do 
not  remove  this  for  at  least  twelve  hours,  and  even  then 
do  not  pull  it  out,  but  wash  the  mouth  with  cold  water 
till  it  is  loose. 

ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  VEINS,  or  as  doctors  name  it  va- 
ricose veins,  is  very  frequent  in  the  lower  limbs  of  per- 
sons v;ho  have  to  stand  many  hours  in  the  day,  such  as 
Laundresses.  Sometimes  they  become  so  large,  and  the 
coverings  so  thin,  that  they  burst,  and  though  the  bleed- 
ing may  not  perhaps  endanger  life,  it  causes  great  debili- 
ty. There  are  two  things  which  people  afflicted  in  this 
should  attend  to.  In  the  first  place,  whenever  it  ia 


36  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

possible,  even  for  a  few  minutes,  lot  the  limbs  be  horizon- 
tal, either  by  lying  down,  or  by  having  them  raised ;  and 
secondly,  to  give  support  by  bandages  of  flannel,  preferably, 
put  on  smoothly  and  evenly  in  the  morning  before  the  legs 
have  time  to  swell.  This  should  be  done  if  possible  by 
another  person,  for  the  leg  is  altered  in  shape  by  being 
bent.  But  the  best  plan  of  giving  support  is  by  elastic 
stockings,  which  can  be  purchased  of  the  exact  size  re- 
quired. They  can  be  draAvn  on  over  a  well-fitting  cotton 
stocking,  without  any  trouble,  give  equal  and  gentle  sup- 
port to  every  part  of  the  limb,  and  if  good  will  last  a  long 
while. 

BKOKEN  BONES. 

These  accidents  often  happen  wherq  surgical  help  can- 
not be  got  at  once,  perhaps  not  at  all.  A  broken  bone  ia 
easily  detected  by  the  person  not  being  able  to  raise  the 
limb,  by  its  bending  where  it  ought  not,  and  by  the  pain. 
Let  us  commence  at  the  top  of  the  body  and  go  regu- 
larly downwards. 

HEAD.— Any  accident  sufficiently  severe  to  break  the 
bones  of  the  head  or  face,  or  to  cause  the  person  to  remain 
insensible,  needs  immediate  medical  attendance.  Let  tho 
head  be  raised,  apply  cold  water,  particularly  if  there  bo 
bleeding,  and  keep  down  all  noise  and  excitement. 

THE  COIXAK-BONE  runs  from  the  top  of  the  breast-bone 
to  the  shoulder.  This  is  generally  broken  near  the  mid- 
dle. On  the  sound  side  the  bone  is  smooth  and  even ;  on 
the  injured  side  you  will  observe  the  lump  caused  by  the 
broken  ends  rising  one  over  the  other ;  and  if  the  shoulder 
be  brought  forward,  you  will  see  the  parts  move,  and  the 
person  will  suffer  pain.  There  is  the  same  difference  in 
the  way  in  which  bones  break  as  there  is  in  a  branch  of  a 
growing  tree  and  an  old  one.  In  a  child  the  bone  will 
bend  to  some  extent,  and  then  not  break  right  through 


BROKEN  BONES.  31 

but  in  an  aged  person  it  snaps  off  with  a  clean  fracture, 
like  a  dry  stick.  It  is  of  consequence  to  remember  this ; 
for  in  a  child  you  will  not  perceive  the  ends  of  a  bons 
move  as  they  do  in  an  adult. 

Get  a  round  pad  the  thickness  of  a  man's  arm  and  five 
inches  long,  Push  the  shoulder  backwards,  and  press  wi  th 
the  other  hand  on  the  fracture  till  you  get  it  in  its  place ; 
put  the  pad  into  the  arm-pit,  and  secure  the  arm  with  a 
bandage  around  the  body;  raise  the  fore-arm  well  up 
in  a  sling.  Take  the  patient  to  a  surgeon,  and  ask  him 
to  show  you  how  to  fix  it ;  for  you  will  have  to  watch 
over  it  for  a  month,  and  it  must  not  be  allowed  to  slip 
out  of  its  place. 

RIBS  BROKEN,  -WITHOUT  A  WOUND. — Symptoms. — Pain 
on  taking  a  deep  breath,  or  on  pressure  where  the  injury 
has  taken  place.  If  you  press  suddenly  on  the  ends  of  the 
ribs  near  the  back-bone  you  will  give  pain,  not  where  you 
press,  but  where  the  bone  is  broken. 

If  there  be  spitting  of  blood,  keep  the  patient  quiet, 
and  give  no  stimulants.  If  there  be  a  bruise,  apply  hot 
fomentations,  or  a  large  hot  poultice ;  then  a  bandage  of 
flannel  six  inches  wide  round  the  chest  (of  course  over 
the  injured  part) ;  draw  this  tight,  and  sew  it  on  with 
large  stitches,  not  placed  opposite  each  other,  but  more 
like  what  is  called  the  "  herring-bone  stitch ;"  tighten  it 
from  day  to  day  as  required.  If  the  accident  happen 
away  from  the  house,  tie  a  handkerchief  firmly  over  the 
clothes  till  you  reach  home. 

RIBS  BROKEN,  WITH  A  WOUND. — If  it  be  merely  a 
scratch,  after  your  fomentation  use  a  bit  of  lint  and  plaster, 
and  your  bandage  as  before ;  but  if  the  wound  be  at  all 
deep,  even  if  you  do  not  think  it  has  gone  through  iuto 
the  chest,  put  on  some  folds  of  wet  rag  and  a  bandage. 
Let  the  person  lie  on  the  bad  side,  and  keep  him  as  quiet 
as  you  can  till  the  doctor  comes.  Do  not  forget  this  rule, 


38  TILL   THE   DOCTOR  COMES. 

In  all  cases  of  a  wound  to  the  chest  the  person  must  lie  or 
the  wounded  side. 

ARM,  ABOVE  TUE  ELBOW. — There  is  only  one  bone  here. 
We  want  four  splints,  with  a  soft  pad  to  each,  to  reach 
from  the  shoulder  to  the  bend  of  the  arm.  Place  one  be- 
hind, one  before,  and  one  on  each  side,  and  secure  thsm 
with  a  bandage.  Use  the  sound  arm  as  a  model  to  shape 
your  splints  by.  Carry  the  arm  in  a  sling. 

ELBOW  JOINT. — The  bone  which  projects  at  the  back  of 
the  elbow  is  broken  by  a  fall  or  blow.  The  person  cannot 
use  the  arm.  Compare  the  two  arms  together,  and  you 
will  find  the  point  of  the  elbow  is  gone  and  is  drawn  up 
into  the  back  of  the  upper  arm. 

Keep  the  arm  quite  straight  and  place  a  long  splint  on 
the  inside,  well  padded. 

ARM,  BELOW  THE  ELBOW. — Here  you  have  two  bones, 
and  one  or  both  may  be  broken.  If  you  try  to  raise  the 
arm  by  taking  hold  of  the  wrist  you  will  easily  detect  it. 

Hold  the  arm  bent,  with  the  thumb  uppermost — as  if 
the  person  were  going  to  lay  it  flat  against  his  chesjj^ 
place  one  splint  along  the  palm  of  the  hand  to^tb*-  bend 
of  the  arm,  the  other  along  the  back  of  the  hand  to  a  little 
beyond  the  elbow ;  apply  a  wet  bandage  loosely  to  keep 
them  steady,  and  carry  the  arm  in  a  sling.  After  all  frac- 
tures there  is  swelling.  Always  allow  for  this  in  band- 
aging the  first  two  or  three  days. 

HAND,  FOOT,  OR  ANKLE. — These  bones  are  solid,  and 
are  almost  always  wounded  by  such  an  accident  as  breaks 
or  crushes  the  bone — such  as  by  machinery,  threshing- 
machines,  etc., — and  are  alwaysserious. 

Cover  the  whole  hand  in  several  folds  of  rag,  or  hand- 
kerchiefs, dipped  in  cold  water.  If  you  cannot  find  water, 
wrap  it  up  in  a  good  handful  of  damp  grass.  If  there  be 
much  bleeding,  dip  it  into  cold  water  if  you  find  any  on 
the  way.  Hold  the  hand  on  the  top  of  your  head. 


BROKEN  BONES.  38 

HIP  JOINT.  The  bone  here  is  liable  to  be  broken  in 
aged  people  from  very  slight  causes.  Very  frequently 
the  person  feels  something  crack  in  the  hip,  and  cannot 
stand  or  rise  from  the  ground.  If  placed  upright,  you  will 
find  the  injured  limb  shorter  than  the  other  and  the  foot 
turned  outwards.  Remove  the  clothes  carefully  and  keep 
in  bed  till  the  doctor  comes. 

THIGH. — The  fracture  is  ascertained  by  the  person 
not  being  able  to  raise  the  leg,  and  by  pain  when  he  at- 
tempts to  do  so.  The  greatest  trouble  you  will  have  in 
this  case  is  from  the  violent  spasms  of  the  muscles,  which 
draw  the  broken  bone  out  of  its  place,  and  case  great  suf- 
fering. 

If  in  the  fields,  or  away  from  home,  get  some  stiff  straw, 
reeds,  bits  of  very  thin  board,  or,  if  anyone  has  a  rather 
stiff  hat,  knock  the  crown  out,  split  up  the  body,  and  bind 
this  rather  tightly  with  suspenders,  handkerchiefs,  etc., 
round  the  injured  limb.  On  reaching  home,  if  the  spasma 
be  severe,  put  a  strong  bandage  round  the  ankle,  cross  it 
over  the  instep,  and  bring  the  ends  together  under  the 
foot,  and  to  this  sling  a  brick,  or  any  convenient  article 
about  eight  pounds  weight.  Let  this  hang  over  the  foot 
of  the  bed,  so  as  to  draw  down  the  leg.  This  will  give 
great  relief. 

CAP  OF  THE  KNEE. — This  fracture  is  commonly  caused 
by  falling  on  the  knee,  or  in  trying  to  avoid  falling. 
As  soon  as  it  happens,  the  person  has  lost  all  power  of 
standing  on  that  leg ;  and  if  placed  upright,  drops  down 
instantly.  The  bone  is  split  across,  and  has  left  a  gap, 
just  as  we  found  at  the  elbow  when  that  bone  waa  bro- 
ken. 

Keep  the  leg  quite  straight  placing  the  splint  of  course 
along  the  back  of  the  limb,  and  treat  it  exactly  as  we  de- 
scribed at  the  elbow,  and  when  the  patient  is  obliged  to 
move,  pass  a  strong  bandage  round  the  neck  und  under 


40  TILL   TIIE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

the  foot,  and  draw  it  so  tight  that  it  will  entirely  support 
the  weight  of  the  leg. 

LEG  BELOW  TUB  KNEE. — Here  we  have  two  bones,  13 
in  the  fore-arm.  If  the  small  one  be  broken,  you  may 
have  great  difficulty  in  finding  it,  and  it  is  of  no  conse- 
quence to  do  so,  for  the  large  one  will  act  as  a  splint ;  but 
if  the  larger  one  be  broken,  it  is  so  little  covered  with 
flesh  that  you  cannot  fail  to  know  it. 

Get  a  broom  handle,  cut  it  into  two  pieces,  which  will 
reach  from  the  knee  to  a  little  past  the  foot ;  take  a  pil- 
low-slip, or  piece  of  calico  about  the  same  size,  foil  each 
end  round  a  piece  of  the  brush-handle,  and  sew  it  on  ;  lay 
a  soft  pillow  lengthways  in  this,  place  the  leg  comfortably 
upon  the  pillow,  bring  up  the  sticks  (rolling  the  calico 
round  them)  till  it  allows  them  to  come  just  half-way  up 
the  knee-joint  and  half-way  up  the  foot;  pass  two  or 
three  pieces  of  tape  under,  bring  up  the  sides  of  the  pil- 
low against  the  leg,  and  tie  them ;  keep  the  foot  point- 
ing directly  upwards. 

GENERAL  REMARKS. — The  object  you  have  in  view  is 
not  to  cure  broken  bones,  but  to  put  the  broken  ends  in 
their  proper  places,  and  keep  them  there.  Nature  will 
do  the  rest. 

In  fractures  of  the  lower  limbs,  occurring  at  a  distance 
from  home,  the  jolting  of  a  carriage  should  be  avoided, 
and  the  person  carried.  A  door,  a  broad  plank  or  shut- 
ter, a  large  sack  cut  open,  a  sheet  or  blanket  or  piece  ol 
tarpaulin,  fastened  at  the  four  corners  to  two  strong  hay 
forks,  makes  a  capital  hammock,  carried  by  four  men. 

In  any  case  of  injury  to  the  arm  or  hand,  you  need  a 
splint.  Any  man  can  make  one  in  a  few  minutes  out  of  a 
piece  of  thin  board  or  stiff  cardboard,  a  cigar  box,  or  an 
old  bandbox  cut  into  slips  the  breadth  of  your  hand,  or  a 
little  wider ;  or  if  you  are  in  the  country  you  can  make  an 
excellent,  strong,  light  splint  with  six  or  eight  willow  twigs 


DISLOCATIONS;  OK  LIMBS  OUT  OF  JOINT.          41 

(such  as  are  used  for  making  baskets)  tied  together  in  and 
out  with  tape;  but  whatever  you  use,  let  it  be  long 
enough  to  reach  from  a  little  beyond  the  elbow  to  a  little 
beyond  the  ends  of  the  fingers.  Cover  this  with  a  pad  ol 
soft  hay,  hair,  or  anything  soft,  and  then  not  oniy  tho 
arm,  but  the  hand,  will  rest  comfortably.  You  can  now 
use  anything  you  like  to  suspend  it  round  the  neck,  only 
bearing  in  mind  that  the  hand  must  not  hang  lower  than 
the  elbow. 


DISLOCATIONS; 
OE    LIMBS    OUT    OF    JOINT. 

Never  attempt  to  do  anything  unless  you  are  quite  sure 
it  is  a  case  of  being  "  out  of  joint."  It  would  be  a  dread- 
ful mistake  to  pull  about  a  fracture  instead.  Excepting  the 
one  case  which  I  now  give  you,  it  will  be  far  better  to 
wait  till  a  surgeon  makes  a  proper  examination. 

BROKEN  NECK,  OB  NECK  OUT  OF  JOINT.— This  is  caused 
by  a  heavy  fall  on  the  side  of  the  head.  The  head  is 
turned  to  one  side  and  fixed.  In  this  case  you  must  act 
at  once. 

Lay  the  person  on  his  back,  plant  one  knee  against 
each  shoulder,  grasp  the  head  firmly,  pull  gently,  and  at 
the  same  time  turn  the  head  into  its  proper  place. 

JAW. — This  is  sometimes  thrown   out   of  joint  by 
opening  the  mouth  too  wide,  as  in  gaping ; 
you    cannot    possibly    mistake    it.     The 
mouth  is  fixed  wide  open,  and  of  course 
the  person  cannot  speak. 

Place  a  bit  of  strong  stick — a  thin  walk- 
ing-stick will   do   very  well — across  the 
mouth,  exactly  like  a  horse's  bit.    Fush  it  far  back,  then 
press  downwards  and  backwards  till  you  feel  the  jaw  slip 


4:Z  TILL    THE    DOCTOR    COMES. 

into  its  place,  or  you  may  push  it  into  its  place  with  your 
i/humbs  protected  with  a  towel. 

SHOULDER. — The  arm  cannot  be  raised.  You  will  see 
the  depression  on  the  top  of  the  shoulder,  where  the 
bone  ought  to  be,  and  will  most  likely  feel  it  in  the 
armpit. 

Lay  the  person  flat  on  his  back,  and  sit  down  beside 
him  on  the  injured  side.  Pull  off  your  boot,  place  your 
heel  in  the  armpit,  take  hold  of  the  arm,  either  simply 
with  your  hands  or  with  a  long  towel  fastened  to  it,  and 
passed  round  your  neck,  and  pull  steadily.  After  you 
have  done  this  some  time,  tell  the  person  to  turn  round ; 


while  he  is  trying  to  do  this,  give  a  sudden  strong  pull, 
jerk  your  heel  against  the  head  of  the  bone  in  the  arm- 
pit, and  you  will  hear  it  return  to  its  place  with  a  snap. 

It  will  be  best  for  you,  however,  not  to  try  to  do  this  ex- 
cept in  an  extreme  emergency,  or  in  the  case  of  a  person 
to  whom  the  same  accident  has  happened  before,  for  you 
might  do  great  harm  if  it  were  a  fracture  and  not  a  dis- 
location. 

THUMB. — You  cannot  possibly  mistake  this ;  but,  small 
as  the  joint  is,  you  will  find  it  exceedingly  difficult  to 
master.  Take  it  to  a  surgeon,  if  possible.  But  if  you 
should  be  a  long  way  from  assistance,  try  the  following  : 


SPRAINS.  43 

Let  one  strong  man  hold  the  wrist,  or,  if  you  are  by 
yourself,  let  the  person  lie  on  the  floor.  Powder  a  little 
chalk  or  resin  on  the  hand  to  prevent  slipping.  Pull 
steadily  at  the  thumb  for  some  time,  then  turn  the  thumb 
backwards,  and  at  the  same  time  with  the  other  hand 
oush  it  into  its  place. 


Fingers  may  be  managed  in  the  same  way. 

HIP. — The  leg  is  shortened,  and  the  foot  turned  in- 
wards /  but  unless  you  feel  sure  it  is  out,  do  not  attempt 
to  do  anything.  In  case  of  need,  act  in  the  same  way  as 
you  would  do  in  the  case  of  the  shoulder,  only  placing 
your  foot  between  the  legs,  protecting  the  parts  with  the 
folds  of  a  toweL 

WEIST,  KNEE,  OB  AKKLE. — These  are  always  such 
severe  accidents  that  they  should  be  at  once  placed  under 
the  care  of  a  surgeon ;  but  if  you  cannot  obtain  advice, 
the  principle  of-  action  is  the  same  in  all  cases.  By 
stretching  the  muscles  by  pulling,  till  they  become  so  re- 
laxed, that  they  will  allow  you  to  push  the  joint  back 
again  into  its  place. 

SPRAINS. 

A  sprain  is  a  very  painful  and  very  serious  thing. 
When  you  consider  that  from  the  tips  of  the  fingers 
tc  the  wrist,  or  from  the  ends  of  the  toes  to  the  leg,  there 
are  not  less  than  thirty  separate  bones,  all  tied  together 
with  straps,  cords,  and  elastic  bands,  and  about  twenty 
hinges,  all  to  be  kept  in  good  working  order,  you  wilJ 


44  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

not  wonder  at  sprains  being  frequent  and  sometimes  sen 
ous.     You  will  have  little  difficulty  in  knowing  a  sprain. 

But  there  is  the  danger  of  bones  being  broken  or  dis- 
placed, as  well  as  the  mere  sprain.  Therefore,  as  soon  aa 
possible,  before  swelling  takes  place,  see  if  the  joint  looks 
natural ;  compare  it  with  the  other  one,  and  notice  if  any 
bone  be  loose  or  pushed  out  of  its  place.  If  so,  go  to  a 
surgeon  at  once.  If  it  is  only  a  sprain,  wrap  up  the  part 
in  several  folds  of  flannel,  dipped  in  water  as  hot  as  it 
can  be  borne  with  comfort,  and  cover  it  with  a  dry  band- 
age :  if  possible,  with  a  piece  of  oiled  silk  or  sheet  gutta 
percha.  If  it  be  very  painful,  wet  a  piece  of  rag  with 
laudanum,  place  this  next  the  skin,  then  cover  with  the 
wet  flannel. 

All  sorts  of  poultices  are  used  in  the*  country  for 
sprains.  So  long  as  they  are  wet,  soft,  and  warm,  they 
do  good ;  but  there  is  nothing  so  cleanly,  so  easily  ap- 
plied and  soothing,  as  the  laudanum  and  hot  water. 

The  part  must  be  kept  quiet,  not  only  while  painful, 
but  even  after  the  pain  has  gone  ;  for  if  you  exercise  the 
joint  too  soon,  you  may  do  great  mischief.  Keep  the 
warm  applications  on  constantly  till  all  pain  and  inflam- 
mation are  gone,  then,  twice  a-day,  hold  the  joint  under 
a  tap  or  stream  of  cold  water  for  a  few  minutes,  till  it 
begins  to  feel  painful ;  then  bind  it  up  with  a  common 
bandage,  and  bring  it  back  to  its  work  very  gradually. 
A  great  deal  of  pain  and  swelling  can.be  avoided  by  keep- 
ing the  limb  in  a  prop'er  position.  Whether  wrist  or 
ankle,  it  must  not  hang  down.  If  it  be  the  wrist,  let  it 
be  comfortably  supported  in  a  sling ;  if  the  ankle,  let  the 
person  lie  or  sit  with  the  foot  raised  as  high  as  is  com- 
fortable. 

THE  TENDON  AT  THE  BACK  OF  THE  HEEL  is  sometimes 
broken  by  jumping,  carrying  too  heavy  weight  up  steps, 
etc.,  or  may  be  cut  by  a  scythe,  and  the  person  is  "  hough 


POISONS   AND   POISONING.  45 

ed."  If  the  accident  happen  away  from  home,  and  you 
have  no  conveyance,  bend  the  knee,  and  secure  it  with  a 
Btrap  or  cord,  passed  under  the  instep  and  around  the 
reck.  Then  with  a  pair  of  crutches,  which  you  can  make 
with  two  hay-rakes  or  hay-forks  cut  to  the  proper  length, 
the  patient  can  walk.  A  very  good  support  can  be  made 
by  a  dog-collar  buckled  round  the  leg  above  the  knee  and 
attached  by  a  cord  to  a  loop  in  the  heel  of  a  slipper.  The 
leg  must  not  be  put  down  with  the  sole  of  the  foot  on 
the  ground  for  two  weeks,  and  when  walking  is  first 
practised,  let  it  be  on  a  level,  but  do  not  try  to  walk  up- 
stairs for  a  month.  There  is  no  occasion  to  confine  a  per- 
son to  the  house  with  this  accident.  Get  a  pair  of  crutches 
at  once,  secure  the  leg,  .and  let  him  enjoy  the  fresh  air. 

POISONS  AND  POISONING. 

So  many  substances  of  a  poisonous  nature  being  used 
in  manufactures  amongst  farmers,  and  also  in  private 
houses,  it  will  be  useful  to  have  a  guide  to  refer  to  in  case 
of  accident ;  for  in  almost  every  case  of  poisoning  the  rem- 
edy must  be  given  immediately,  or  we  cannot  expect  to 
succeed.  I  give  here  the  names  in  common  use,  and  un- 
der one  head  I  include  various  articles  made  from  the 
same  substance.  For  instance,  to  the  word  mercury,  you 
will  find  calomel,  corrosive  sublimate,  white  precipitate, 
vermilion,  which  are  all  mercury,  but  in  different  forms. 

As  a  general  rule,  in  all  cases  of  poisoning,  especially 
if  seen  immediately  after  the  poison  has  been  swallowed, 
the  person  should  be  made  to  vomit.  To  accomplish  this 
give  a  teaspoonful  of  mustard  in  a  tumbler  of  warm  water 
— or  two  or  three  teaspoonfuls  of  powdered  alum  in  the 
same  way, 

ARSENIC:  Scheele's  green,  ague  drops,  rat  poison, 
etc. — Symptoms'.  Pain  and  burning  heat  of  stomach,  dry 


4:6  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

ness  of  throat,  cramps,  purging,  vomiting. — Treatment : 
Give  large  quantities  of  milk  and  raw  eggs,  lime-water  or 
flour-and-water.  Then  castor  oil. 

ANTIMONY  :  Butter  of  antimony,  tartar  emetic,  etc. — 
Symptoms :  Severe  vomiting,  cramps,  faintness,  purging. 
— Treatment:  Plenty  of  strong  tea.  If  you  have  no  com- 
mon tea  at  hand,  use  an  infusion  of  oak,  elm,  sloe,  currant, 
or  blackberry  bark  or  leaves.  Or  for  butter  of  antimony, 
use  the  treatment  given  below  for  ACIDS.  Support  the 
strength. 

ACIDS  :  Oxalic,  sulphuric  (oil  of  vitriol),  nitric  (aqua- 
fortis), muriatic  (spirit  of  salt),  but  not  prussic  acid. — 
Symptoms :  Horribly  burning,  sour  pain  from  the  mouth 
downwards.  The  skin  of  the  lips,  mouth,  and  throat,  is 
dissolved.  Purging  of  blood,  great  thirst. — Treatment: 
Put  an  ounce  of  calcined  magnesia  into  a  pint  of  water, 
and  give  a  wineglassful  every  two  or  three  minutes.  If 
the  magnesia  is  not  ready,  use  whiting,  chalk,  soda,  or 
lime-water,  or  knock  a  piece  of  plaster  off  the  wall,  pound 
it  small,  and  give  it  in  milk  or  water.  While  one  person 
attends  to  this,  let  another  cut  some  common  soap  into 
small  bits,  and  give  a  teaspoonful  with  water,  or  a  ta- 
blespoonful  of  soft  soap.  Give  plenty  of  warm  water  to 
drink. 

BAD  FISH  :  Mussels,  etc. — Symptoms :  Pain  in  stom- 
ach, headache,  flushed  face,  feeling  of  choking,  perhaps 
scarlet  eruption  of  skin. — 'Treatment:  Empty  the  stom- 
ach by  an  emetic  (as  in  poisoning  by  laudanum),  then  give 
a  full  dose  of  castor  oil  with  some  warm  spice.  A  mus- 
tard plaster  to  the  pit  of  stomach  if  needful. 

BITE  OF  SNAKE,  or  of  any  animal  supposed  to  be  mad. 
— Treatment:  Tie  a  string  tightly  above  the  wound,  wash 
the  bite  well,  let  the  person  bitten  suck  the  wound  if  he 
can.  If  you  can  get  lunar  caustic  (nitrate  of  silver),  rub 
it  well  in,  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  wound,  or  take  a  very 


POISONS   AND  POISONING. 


small  poker,  or,  much  better,  a  steel  used  for  sharpening 
knives  ;  make  the  point  of  this  quite  red-hot  —  to  a  white 
heat  if  you  can  —  and  press  this  for  a  moment  into  the 
wound.  This  is  not  such  a  dreadful  operation  as  it  seema 
to  be  ;  if  the  steel,  or  whatever  article  you  use,  is  really 
hot  enough,  one  moment's  application  is  sufficient,  and 
gives  scarcely  any  pain  at  the  time. 

In  case  of  a  rattlesnake  bite  the  person  must  be  given 
freely  whiskey  or  other  alcoholic  stimulant  ;  also  spirits  of 
ammonia,  if  it  can  be  had. 

I  wish  here  to  draw  attention  to  a  most  absurd,  ridic- 
ulous superstition  which  exists  ;  that  is,  if  a  person  be  bit- 
ten by  a  dog  which  is  in  perfect  health,  but  afterwards 
goes  mad,  the  person  also  will  be  affected  ;  so  they  insist 
upon  the  dog  being  destroyed,  for  fear  it  should  go  mad 
at  any  future  period.  Instead  of  this,  the  dog  should  be 
carefully  taken  care  of;  patients  would  then  have  the  sat- 
isfaction of  knowing  that  there  was  nothing  wrong  with  it, 
and  their  minds  would  be  at  rest. 

CHLORIDE  OF  TIN:  called  Muriate  by  dyers.  Symp- 
toms: Vomiting,  pain  in  stomach,  purging,  convulsive 
twitchings.  —  Treatment:  Give  large  quantities  of  milk 
with  magnesia,  chalk,  or  whiting  in  it  ;  also  raw  eggs  beat- 
en up  with  water  or  milk. 

CHLOKIDE  OF  ZINC  :  Burnett's  disinfecting  fluid,  white 
vitriol.  —  Symptoms  :  Same  as  chloride  of  tin.  —  Treatment: 
Plenty  of  milk,  with  white  of  eggs  in  it. 

COPPER  :  Blue  copperas,  blue  verditer,  mineral  green, 
verdigris,  food  or  confectionery  cooked  in  foul  copper  ves- 
sels, pickles  made  green  by  copper.  —  Symptoms  :  Cop- 
pery taste  in  mouth,  tongue  dry  and  parched,  very  pain- 
ful colic,  bloody  motions.  Treatment  :  Large  quantities 
of  milk  and  white  of  eggs,  afterwards  strong  tea.  Don't 
give  vinegar. 

CORROSIVE  SUBLIMATE  :  See  Mercury. 


48  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

COCULUS  INDICUS  :  See  poisonous  Plants. 

GREEN  VITRIOL  :  Sulphate  of  iron. — Symptoms :  Pain, 
sickness,  burning  heat  of  stomach. — Treatment:  Give  an 
emetic,  afterwards  magnesia  or  carbonate  of  soda  and  wa- 
ter. 

IODINE  :  Iodide  of  potassium,  or  soda,  or  iron. — Symp- 
toms :  Burning  pain  in  throat,  heartburn,  vomiting,  very 
likely  salivation. — Treatment:  Large  quantities  of  cold 
starch-and-water,  or  flour-and-water. 

LEAD  :  Acetate,  or  sugar  of  lead,  red  lead,  white  lead. 
— Symptoms,  if  taken  in  large  quantity :  Metallic  taste  in 
the  mouth,  pain  in  stomach,  painful  vomiting,  often  bloody, 
hiccough. — Treatment :  Put  two  ounces  of  Epsom  salts  into 
a  pint  of  water,  and  give  a  wineglassful  every  ten  minutes, 
till  it  operates  freely.  Taken  in  small  quantities,  either 
by  drinking  water  out  of  a  new  lead  cistern,  or  one  newly 
repaired  with  white  lead,  or  by  working  amongst  it ;  lead 
produces  colic,  loss  of  power  in  the  limbs,  especially  wrist 
drop,  and  a  blue  line  along  the  gums :  in  this  case  you  will 
not  require  to  do  anything  till  the  doctor  comes. 

LAUDANUM  :  Opium,  paregoric,  soothing  syrup,  syrup 
of  poppies,  etc.,  etc. — Symptoms:  Giddiness,  stupor,  grad- 
ually increasing  into  deep  sleep,  the  pupil  of  the  eye  very 
small,  lips  blue,  skin  cold,  heavy,  slo w  breathing.— Treat- 
ment: Empty  the  stomach  as  quickly  as  possible  by  vomit- 
ing. For  an  adult  give  fifteen  grains  of  sulphate  of  zinc 
in  a  little  water ;  to  a  young  person  half  the  quantity,  to 
an  infant  a  teaspoonful  of  syrup  of  ipecac.  If  you  can- 
not get  drugs,  use  mustard  and  warm  water,  salt-and- 
water,  and  tickle  the  top  of  the  throat.  After  vomiting 
give  plenty  of  very  strong  coffee,  put  a  mustard  plaster 
round  the  calf  of  each  leg,  and  if  cold  and  sinking  give  a 
good  quantity  of  spirit-and-water.  Keep  the  patient 
roused  till  the  effect  has  passed  off  by  beating  the  soles 
of  the  feet,  walking  him  about,  or  dashing  cold  water  on 


POZSO.S  Am  pOIso.,ra0.  «, 

las  Angetes,  Cat. 

the  face.     Remember  if  the  patient  goes  to  sleep  at  this 
stage,  it  will  be  the  sleep  of  death. 

LUNAR  CAUSTIC,  OR  NITRATE  OF  SILVER,  has  been 
swallowed  by  accident  when  used  for  touching  a  sore 
throat,  etc. — Symptoms :  Burning  pain,  similar  to  arsenic. 
— Treatment:  Give  a  large  teaspoonful  of  common  salt  in 
a  glass  of  water,  and  repeat  this  in  ten  minutes.  Then  a 
dose  of  castor  oil,  and  linseed  tea,  or  barley-water  for  a 
drink. 

MERCURY  :  Calomel,  corrosive  sublimate,  red  precipi- 
tate, vermilion,  etc. — Symptoms :  Metallic  taste  in  mouth, 
burning  pain  in  throat,  stomach  and  bowels,  vomiting, 
very  painful  purging,  and  cramps. — Treatment:  Give  the 
white  of  an  egg  in  a  little  water,  repeat  this  twice  more 
with  five  minutes  between  each  time,  give  large  quanti- 
ties of  milk  or  flour-and-water,  then  linseed  tea. 

NITRE,  OR  SALTPETRE. — Symptoms :  Similar  to  arsen- 
ic.— Treatment:  Give  plenty  of  flour-and-water,  then  lin- 
seed or  sweet  oil. 

OPIUM:  See  Laudanum. 

PHOSPHORUS:  Lucifer  matches. — Symptoms:  Great 
excitement  of  the  whole  system ;  other  effects  like  arse- 
nic.— Treatment:  Give  large  quantities  of  warm  water 
with  magnesia,  chalk,  or  whiting,  or  even  flour,  stirred  in 
it ;  encourage  vomiting,  but  give  no  oil  or  fat  of  any  de- 
scription. 

POISONOUS  PLANTS  OR  SEEDS  :  False  mushrooms,  or 
anything  of  the  kind  picked  up  by  children,  but  which 
you  cannot  tell  at  the  time. — Treatment:  Empty  the 
stomach  by  any  emetic  you  have  at  hand :  warm  water, 
mustard,  salt,  or  soap,  warm  chamomile  tea,  etc.  If  there 
be  no  purging,  give  a  good  dose  of  castor  oil  or  olive  oil. 
If  the  patient  be  faint  or  sinking,  give  stimulants. 

POTASH  :  Soda,  ammonia,  sal  volatile,  salt  cake,  disin- 
fecting fluids  of  concentrated  solutions  of  soda  or  potash. 
3 


60  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

— Symptoms:  Heat,  pain  in  stomach,  vomiting,  and  purg- 
ing.— Treatment:  Vinegar-and-water,  oranges,  lemons, 
sour  beer  or  cider,  or  sour  fruit.  Afterwards,  olive,  lin- 
seed, or  any  wholesome  oil. 

PRUSSIC  ACID:  Oil  of  bitter  almonds,  laurel-water, 
cyanide  of  potassium,-  used  by  photographers  and  o'thers. 
— Symptoms :  If  the  quantity  be  large,  death  takes  place 
instantly,  but  smaller  quantities  produce  giddiness,  loss 
of  sight,  and  fainting.  The  peculiar  smell  is  often  per- 
ceptible about  the  mouth. — Treatment:  Give  sal  volatile 
and  water,  and  apply  a  bottle  of  smelling  salts  to  the 
nose,  dash  cold  water  on  the  face,  and  give  stimulants. 

STRYcrorrNE :  Bat  poison,  etc.,  nux  vomica. — Symp- 
toms: There  is  lockjaw,  twitching  of  the  muscles,  convul- 
sions, the  body  is  bent  backwards,  so  as  to  rest  upon  the 
feet  and  head  only. — Treatment:  Try  to  empty  the  stom- 
ach by  an  emetic,  then  give  linseed-tea  or  barley-water, 
and  to  an  adult  thirty  drops  of  laudanum  occasionally  to 
relieve  the  spasms.  There  are  other  remedies,  but  not 
such  as  can  be  used  without  a  doctor  being  present. 

TARTAR  EMETIC  :  See  Antimony. 

ZINC  OXIDE:  Symptoms  and  Treatment — As  in  cop- 
per. 

Always  bear  in  mind  that  cases  of  poisoning  admit  of 
no  delay.  In  many  diseases  and  accidents  an  hour  or 
two  may  be  of  no  consequence,  but  here  we  must  think  of 
minutes,  and  the  life  or  death  of  the  patient  will  depend 
npon  how  you  employ  them. 

TO  RESTORE  A  PERSON  APPARENTLY  DROWNED. 

The  Royal  Humane  Society  some  years  ago  published 
the  following  directions  as  to  what  should  be  done  for  peo« 
pie  who  seemed  to  be  dead  from  drowning  or  suffocation, 
prepared  by  Dr.  Sylvester  and  Dr.  Marshall  Hall : — 


TO   RESTORE   IN  APPARENT  DROWNING.  51 

Send  immediately  for  medical  assistance,  blankets, 
and  dry  clothing,  but  proceed  to  treat  the  patient  instant- 
ly,  securing  as  much  fresh  air  as  possible. 

The  points  to  be  aimed  at  are — first,  and  immediately 
the  restoration  of  breathing ;  and  secondly,  after  breath- 
ing  is  restored,  the  promotion  of  -warmth  and  circulation. 
The  efforts  to  restore  life  must  be  persevered  in  until  the 
arrival  of  medical  assistance,  or  until  the  pulse  and 
breathing  have  ceased  for  at  least  an  hour. 


TREATMENT  TO  RESTORE  NATURAL  BREATHING. 

To  maintain  a  Free  Entrance  of  Air  into  the  Wind 
pipe.— Cleanse  the  mouth  and  nostrils.  This  is  best  done 
by  placing  the  patient  gently  face  downward  for  a  mo- 
ment with  one  of  his  wrists  under  his  forehead.  This 
allows  any  fluids  to  escape  from  the  mouth  and  throat 
and  the  tongue  to  fall  forward ;  draw  forth  the  patient's 
tongue,  and  keep  it  forward ;  an  elastic  band  over  the 
tongue  and  under  the  chin  will  answer  this  purpose.  Rf» 
move  all  tight  clothing  from  about  the  neck  and  chest. 

To  adjust  the  Patienfs  Position. — Place  the  patient 
on  his  back  with  the  head  and  shoulders  raised,  and 
supported  on  a  small  firm  cushion,  such  as  a  folded  coat. 

To  imitate  the  Movements  of  Breathing.— Grasp  the 
patient's  arms  just  above  the  elbows,  and  draw  the  arms 
gently  and  steadily  upwards,  until  they  meet  above  the 
head  (this  is  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  air  into  the 
lungs) ;  and  keep  the  arms  in  that  position  for  two  sec- 
onds. Then  turn  down  the  patient's  arms,  and  press 
them  gently  and  firmly  for  two  seconds  against  the  sides 
of  the  chest  (this  is  with  the  object  of  pressing  air  out 
of  the  lungs :  pressure  on  the  breast-bone  will  aid  this). 

Repeat  these  measures  alternately,  deliberately,  and 
perseveringly,  fifteen  times  in  a  minute,  until  a  spontane- 


5  a  TILL  THE  DOCTOR   COMES. 

iras  effort  to  breathe  is  perceived,  immediately  upon 
which  cease  tc  imitate  the  movements  of  breathing,  and 
proceed  to  induce  circulation  and  warmth. 

Should  a  warm  bath  be  procurable,  the  body  may  be 
placed  in  it  up  to  the  neck,  continuing  to  imitate  the 
movements  of  breathing.  Raise  the  body  in  twenty 
seconds  in  a  sitting  position,  and  dash  cold  water  against 
the  chest  and  face,  and  pass  ammonia  under  the  nose. 
The  patient  should  not  be  kept  in  the  warm  bath  longer 
than  five  or  six  minutes. 

To  excite  Inspiration. — During  the  employment  of  tha 
above  method  excite  the  nostrils  with  snuff  or  smelling- 
salts,  or  tickle  the  throat  with  a  feather.  Rub  the  chest 
and  face  briskly,  and  dash  cold  and  hot  water  alternately 
on  them. 

TREATMENT    AFTER    NATURAL    BREATHING    HAS    BEEN    RE- 
STORED. 

To  induce  Circulation  and  Warmth. — Wrap  the  pa- 
tient in  dry  blankets  and  commence  rubbing  the  limbs  up- 
wards, firmly  and  energetically.  The  friction  must  be 
continued  under  the  blankets  or  over  the  dry  clothing. 

Promote  the  warmth  of  the  body  by  the  application 
of  hot  flannels,  bottles  or  bladders  of  hot  water,  heated 
bricks,  etc.,  to  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  the  armpits,  between 
the  thighs,  and  to  the  soles  of  the  feet.  Warm  clothing 
may  generally  be  obtained  from  bystanders. 

On  the  restoration  of  life,  when  the  power  of  swallow- 
ing has  returned,  a  teaspoonful  of  warm  water,  small 
quantities  of  wine,  warm  brandy  and  water,  or  coffee, 
should  be  given.  The  patient  should-be  kept  in  bed,  and 
a  disposition  to  sleep  encouraged.  During  reaction  large 
mustard  plasters  to  the  chest  and  below  the  shoulders  will 
greatly  relieve  the  distressed  breathing.  Great  care  is 
requisite  to  maintain  the  restored  vital  action,  and  at  the 


FEVEE.  53 

same  time  to  prevent  undue  excitement.     Persevere  for  at 
least  three  or  four  hours. 

Do  not  be  discouraged  if  you  do  not  produce  any  good 
effect  at  once,  but  persevere.  There  have  been  cases  of 
recovery  after  suspended  animation  of  five  hours.  You 
will  feel  it  a  glorious  reward  when  you  see  the  dead  re- 
stored to  life  through  your  exertions.  [The  same  plan 
may  be  used,  except  removing  the  clothes,  when  a  person 
is  suffocated  with  foul  air  of  any  description.  In  this 
case,  too,  cold  water  should  be  freely  applied  to  the  head. 
And  here  I  would  give  you  a  word  of  caution.  Before 
entering  any  old  well,  sewer,  or  other  place  where  you 
may  suspect  the  air  to  be  bad,  let  down  a  lighted  candle 
into  it.  If  this  will  not  burn,  it  is  not  fit  for  you  to  enter. 
Never  use  charcoal  for  warming  a  room  when  any  one  is  in 
it.  The  gas  given  off  when  it  is  burning  is  so  deadly, 
that  I  have  seen  a  husband  and  wife  suffocated  in  bed. 
though  the  charcoal  was  placed  on  the  hearth.] 

FEVER. 

When  nursing  a  case  of  fever,  never  forget  the  great 
subject  of  ventilation.  Change  the  atmosphere  of  the 
room  frequently ;  blow  the  bad  air  out  of  it,  and  fresh  air 
into  it,  not  only  that  the  patient  may  have  the  best  possi- 
ble chance  of  recovery,  but  for  your  own  sake  and  for  the 
sake  of  others.  In  every  sick  room,  but  especially  in  case 
of  fever,  the  chimney  should  be  open ;  and  an  open  fire 
should  be  kept  up,  even  if  the  weather  be  quite  mild,  or  if 
the  house  have  a  furnace  in  it.  This  is  not  necessarily  so 
much  for  heating  as  for  ventilating  the  room  in  the  best 
way.  If  possible,  use  soft  coal  in  preference  to  hard.  Let 
the  patient's  hair  be  cut  short,  to  enable  you  to  attend  to 
it  properly,  and  it  will  also  tend  to  keep  the  head  of  the 
sufferer  cool  and  comfortable.  When  a  person  is  delirious 


54  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

with  fever,  the  dreams  and  fancies  are  almost  always  cf  a 
painful  nature,  the  countenance  showing  plainly  that  the 
mind  is  troubled.  There  is  a  sense  of  fear,  a  dread  of 
something  which  he  may  not  have  the  power  to  explain 
to  you.  Try  in  every  way  to  gain  his  confidence ;  listen 
patiently  to  his  complaints,  however  ridiculous  they  may 
appear  to  you ;  do  not  contradict,  or  tease  him  with  argu- 
ment. Remember  "  dreams  to  the  dreamer  are  realities," 
and  these  things  terrify  him  just  as  much  as  if  they  were 
actually  in  the  room.  It  is  very  common  for  some  part  of 
the  furniture  to  take  frightful  shapes  in  the  eyes  of  a  fever 
patient.  Perhaps  he  may  be  able  to  tell  you  what  it  is, 
but  if  not,  by  carefully  watching  the  eyes,  you  will  find 
him  look  steadily  at  one  object,  and  then  turn  away  sud- 
denly, as  if  he  were  trying  to  escape.  When  these  visions 
are  troubling  the  patient,  the  best  plan,  if  you  can  do  so, 
is  to  remove  him  into  another  room.  The  effect  is  won- 
derful. The  visions  disappear,  the  dreadful  forms  are  all 
gone,  and  the  bright  and  cheerful  face  tells  you  better  than 
words  what  a  relief  he  feels.  If  you  cannot  change  the 
room,  change  the  furniture,  and  if  that  cannot  be  done, 
alter  its  position. 

A  singular  and  yet  not  uncommon  thing  in  fever  with 
delirium  is  a  strong  dislike  taken  by  the  patient  to  a  par- 
ticular person,  and  this  generally  not  a  stranger,  but  a 
near  relative,  one  who  is  greatly  beloved  by  him  when  in 
health,  and  who  has  been  for  days  and  nights  watching 
over  him.  In  some  cases  this  feeling  of  dislike  grows  into 
a  hatred  so  deep  that  it  is  not  safe  to  allow  the  person  to 
remain  aione  in  the  room.  This  is  very  distressing ;  it  ap- 
pears so  ungrateful,  such  a  poor  return  for  all  the  care  and 
kindness  bestowed  upon  him,  so  unnatural,  that  it  is  hard 
to  bear.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that  it  is  unnatu- 
ral ;  it  is  the  result  of  disease,  and  has  no  more  to  do  with 
a  patient's  real  affection  than  taking  a  dislike  to  some  par- 


FEVEE.  55 

ticular  article  of  food.  As  the  mind  becomes  healthy  this 
will  pass  off;  but  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  person  to 
whom  the  dislike  is  taken  should  be  removed  as  soon  aa 
possible,  and  not  again  enter  the  room  till  the  mind  is  in 
a  healthier  state,  or  the  feeling  may  become  so  fixed  that 
it  will  require  a  long  time  to  subdue  it. 

During  the  great  thirst  of  fever  you  will  frequently 
find  that  the  patient,  particularly  a  child,  will  prefer 
pure  water  to  any  other  drink;  but  if  you  require  a 
change,  you  will  find  what  is  called  apple-tea  cheap  and 
refreshing.  Peel  the  apples  and  cut  them  in  very  thin 
slices  into  a  jug  with  some  clean  sugar,  fill  up  with  boil- 
ing water,  and  let  stand  till  quite  cold.  The  quantity 
cannot  be  fixed,  as  that  must  depend  upon  the  quality  of 
the  fruit.  Another  pleasant  drink  is  made  of  the  juice 
of  three  or  four  oranges  and  one  lemon  in  a  quart  of  wa- 
ter with  a  little  sugar.  When  you  cannot  easily  get 
either  oranges  or  lemons,  buy  a  small  bottle  of  lime-juice ; 
this  will  keep  good  in  a  cool  place  for  a  great  length  of 
time;  it  is  very  wholesome,  and  a  tablespoonful,  with 
half  a  pint  of  water,  sweetened,  will  make  a  glass  of 
good  lemonade  in  a  minute.  Perfect  silence  is  not  always 
desirable.  It  is  not  a  good  thing  to  put  on  list  slippers, 
and  walk  about  without  any  noise  ;  if  you  go  up  to  the 
bedside  of  a  patient  in  this  way,  he  may  get  a  severe 
fright.  In  talking,  the  same  rule  holds  good;  do  not 
whisper,  it  will  very  likely  awaken  the  sleeper,  just  be- 
cause it  is  a  strange  sound ;  speak  in  your  natural  voice, 
and  it  will  not  arouse  him,  though  it  be  louder  than  a 
whisper,  for  he  hears  it  every  day,  and  is  used  to  it. 
Therefore  let  all  every-day  sounds  go  on  as  usual,  unless 
complained  of  by  the  patient,  and  let  this  reflection  com- 
fort  you — Sleep  in  the  midst  of  noise  is  sounder  and 
more  likely  to  continue  than  in  a  dead  silence,  because 
slight  causes  are  less  likely  to  disturb  it. 


56  TILL   THE   DOCTOR  COMES. 

Is  it  well  to  awaken  a  patient  to  give  food  or  medi- 
cine? Generally  you  may  conclude  that  if  a  patient 
sleeps  he  is  doing  well ;  but  in  the  sinking  stage  of  fever, 
or  other  great  debility,  it  may  be  needful  to  give  some 
thing  frequently.  After  days  and  nights  of  watchful- 
ness, where  the  mind  is  wandering  with  fever,  the  patient 
will  fall  into  a  long  sleep,  which  may  last  many  hours. 
I  have  one  now  enjoying  excellent  health,  who  slept  in 
this  way  thirty-seven  hours.  This  is  the  turning-point  of 
the  disease,  and  generally  the  patient  awakens  with  the 
mind  restored,  and  from  that  time  commences,  as  it  were, 
a  new  life. 

When  fever  is  once  formed,  it  runs  a  regular  course, 
like  small-pox.  "We  must  try  to  weaken  it  as  much  as 
possible  by  fresh  air,  and  support  life  by  suitable  diet,  till 
the  disease  has  worn  itself  out.  But  as  a  person  not  ac- 
customed to  such  things  cannot  know  at  the  beginning 
whether  the  illness  be  fever  or  not,  you  must  act  only  in 
such  a  way  as  to  do  good  if  it  be  fever,  and  no  harm  if  it 
be  not. 

A  person,  perhaps  after  getting  wet  or  being  exposed 
to  cold,  complains  of  headache,  shivering,  pains  in  the 
limbs,  back,  and  throat ;  put  him  to  bed  and  give  him 
some  hot  drink,  soak  his  feet  in  hot  mustard  water,  and 
at  night  give  a  dose  of  castor  oil.  Having  done  so  much, 
wait  to  see  if  he  will  not  throw  off  the  attack,  which 
may  have  been  but  an  ordinary  cold. 

SCAELET  FEVER. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  you  should  be  able  to  distin- 
guish between  scarlet  fever  and  measles,  for  the  first  is  a 
most  fatal  diseaso,  and  the  second,  with  proper  care,  will 
seldom  destroy  life.  There  are  two  kinds  of  scarlet 
fever:  the  mild  form,  where  there  is  little  or  no  sore 


SCARLET   FEVER.  57 

throat,  and  in  which  the  eruption  does  not  appear  till  the 
fourth  day,  and  which,  if  the  child  be  kept  warm,  gener- 
ally passes  off  without  doing  any  harm ;  and  the  malig- 
nant, with  ulcerated  sore  throat,  which  is  a  dreadful  dis- 
ease, often  proving  fatal. 

The  difference  between  scarlet  fever  and  measles  is — 

In  Scarlet  Fever —  In  Measles — 

The  eruption  is  bright  scarlet.  The  eruption  is  dark  red  color. 

It  appears  on  the  second  day.  Does  not  till  the  fourth  day. 

"is  quite  smooth  to  the  touch.  Is  raised. 

Is  in  small  round  spots.  Is  larger  and  crescent-shaped. 

Disappears  on  pressure.  Does  not  disappear. 

The  face  is  quite  dry.  Face  swelled,  running  from  the 

eyes  and  nose. 

Symptoms  of  Scarlet  Fever. — Vomiting,  which  fre- 
quently comes  on  suddenly  while  the  child  is  at  play. 
Headache,  a  feeling  of  depression  and  weakness,  as  if  all 
the  strength  had  gone,  and  shivering.  Next  day  there  is 
hoarseness,  difficulty  of  swallowing,  hot,  dry  skin,  great 
thirst,  the  poor  child  sighs  frequently,  and  complains  of 
pain  like  needles  pricking  all  over  the  body.  The  rash 
now  appears,  first  in  scarlet  patches  on  the  face,  spreads 
down  the  neck  and  over  the  body.  The  tongue  is  a  fiery 
bright  red,  like  a  ripe  strawberry.  The  throat  swells, 
and  there  is  a  great  difficulty  in  swallowing.  About  the 
fifth  day  the  scarlet  color  fades  and  turns  brown,  and  the 
skin  peels  off.  Never  undertake  the  treatment  of  this 
yourself,  if  you  can  get  proper  assistance.  Apply  hot 
fomentations  constantly  to  the  throat,  and  give  oranges, 
lemonade,  raspberry  vinegar  and  water,  black  currant 
tea,  or  apple  tea,  for  drink.  Above  all  things,  keep  the 
child  well  protected  from  cold.  When  the  skin  begins  to 
peel  off,  you  will  find  the  child  constantly  picking  the 
nose,  lips,  and  tips  of  the  fingers.  It  is  a  curious  thing 
how  children  in  this  state  seem  to  feel  no  pain,  but  to  take 
3* 


68  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

to  delight  in  doing  this.  No  coaxing  nor  threats  will  have 
any  effect ;  your  only  remedy  is  to  put  a  pair  of  mittens 
or  worsted  socks  on  the  hands  and  secure  them  to  the 
waistbands  of  the  dress  ;  then  the  fingers  and  thumb  will 
meet  inside  the  sock  without  getting  hold  of  the  skin. 

Keep  the  child  in  the  house  a  fortnight  after  he  seems 
quite  well 

This  disease,  like  small-pox,  is  very  infectious.  I 
have  known  a  whole  family  prostrated  by  the  lady  mert  y 
standing  for  two  or  three  minutes  in  the  lobby  of  an  in- 
fected house.  I  also  know  a  case  of  a  nobleman's  house, 
where  the  whole  of  the  furniture  of  the  room  was  burnt, 
the  other  rooms  were  repainted  and  papered,  and  the 
house  left  empty  for  four  months,  yet  the  disease  broke 
out  again  from  using  some  clothing  which  had  remained  in 
it.  Never  allow  any  clothes  of  a  patient  to  be  washed 
in  the  house,  but  always  outside;  do  not  pour  boiling 
water  on  to  them  and  stand  over  the  steam.  Fever  is 
not  a  solitary  disease  like  rheumatism  or  dropsy,  affect- 
ing only  one  person ;  but  when  it  once  fixes  itself,  it  is 
Impossible  to  tell  how  many  it  will  attack  before  it  quits 
the  locality ;  therefore,  if  you  have  it  in  your  own  house, 
do  not  allow  any  person  to  enter  it,  and  never  yourself 
go  to  any  puch  place  from  idle  curiosity ;  but  if  it  be  your 
duty  to  go,  do  your  duty  without  fear,  and  leave  the  rest 
with  God. 

After  scarlet  fever  or  small-pox  the  sick  room  and  all 
the  articles  used  in  it  should  be  thoroughly  disinfected. 
This  may  be  very  thoroughly  and  well  done  by  closing 
up  the  room  air-tight,  after  removing  everything  wet  or 
moist  from  it,  and  then  burning  sulphur  in  it — a  few 
ounces  on  an  iron  pipkin  or  kettle  with  legs.  Every  per* 
son  should  leave  the  room  after  the  sulphur  is  lighted, 
and  it  should  be  left  closed  for  several  hours. 


SMALL-POX.  59 

MEASLES. 

We  come  to  another  infectious  disease,  but  one  which, 
with  ordinary  care,  is  not  fatal,  as  a  general  rule. 

Symptoms. — The  child  appears  as  if  it  had  a  cold  in 
the  head,  sneezing,  cough,  running  at  the  eyes  and  nose, 
itching  of  the  face,  the  eyes  are  red,  and  very  sensitive  to 
the  light. 

On  the  fourth  day  small  red  spots  appear  on  the  face, 
generally  in  clusters,  and  then  spread.  If  you  examine 
them  carefully,  you  will  find  they  are  not  round,  but  cres- 
cent or  half-moon  shape.  In  measles  the  fever  increases 
as  the  rash  comes  out.  When  it  has  been  out  three  days 
it  turns  brown,  and  the  skin  crumbles  off  like  bran.  The 
common  saying  with  regard  to  measles  is,  "  It  is  three 
days  out,  and  four  days  in,"  that  is,  that  the  patient  is  ill 
four  days  before  the  eruption  appears,  and  that  it  re- 
mains three  days.  At  this  stage,  diarrhoea  frequently 
occurs. 

Let  the  child  be  in  a  room  shaded  from  any  strong 
light.  Keep  the  chest  particularly  well  protected  from 
cold.  Give  plenty  of  warm  weak  drinks,  such  as  tea,  ar- 
rowroot, etc.,  and  if  the  breathing  is  difficult,  put  on  a 
mustard  and  oat-meal  poultice  to  the  chest,  and  give  a 
small  dose  of  purgative  medicine,  if  needful.  In  general 
this  is  all  that  is  required,  if  you  only  protect  the  child 
from  getting  cold.  But  if  the  disease  is  not  running  its 
usual  course,  and  more  than  this  is  needful,  you  will  need 
good  medical  advice. 

SMALL-POX. 

In  the  ten  years  from  1856  to  1866,  fifty  thousand  per- 
sons have  died  of  small-pox  in  England,  of  which  number 
nine  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  perished  ii) 


60  TELL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

one  year;  that  is  to  say,  five  thousand  lives  are  sacri- 
ficed every  year  by  stupidity  and  neglect. 

The  symptoms,  when  small-pox  first  comes  on,  are 
fever,  pains  in  the  limbs  and  back,  headache,  vomiting, 
and  pain  on  pressing  the  pit  of  the  stomach. 

On  the  third  day,  small  red  spots  appear  on  the  face 
and  head  ;  these  gradually  rise  and  enlarge,  the  eruption 
spreads  over  the  whole  body,  into  the  ears,  eyes,  nose, 
mouth,  and  throat.  The  hands,  feet,  and  face  swell,  there 
is  great  difficulty  in  swallowing ;  by  the  eighth  day  the 
face  is  a  mass  of  pocks.  In  severe  cases  the  eyes  are 
often  seriously  affected  and  the  sight  sometimes  lost. 
On  the  eleventh  day  the  sores  discharge  and  form  a  dry 
crust,  which  gradually  dries  and  falls  off.  This  is  the  time 
when  it  so  frequently  proves  fatal.  In  seventeen  to  twen- 
ty days  the  disease  may  be  said  to  have  run  its  course. 

Small-pox,  when  once  taken,  moves  on  by  fixed  laws, 
and  nothing  you  can  do  will  either  cut  it  short  or  cure  it ; 
it  must  go  through  its  regular  stages.  Still,  you  may  be 
very  useful.  In  the  first  place,  cut  the  hair  close,  for  it 
is  impossible  for  you  to  brush  it  after  the  pocks  have 
risen.  To  prevent  pitting,  you  must  keep  the  light  from 
the  patient's  face,  either  by  covering  it  with  a  piece  of 
something  black — say  silk — with  holes  cut  in  it  for  the 
mouth  and  nostrils;  or  by  keeping  the  room  dark. 
Anoint  the  parts  with  sweet  oil  to  prevent  itching.  Cov- 
ering the  face  is  better  than  darkening  the  room — it  is 
more  convenient  for  the  attendants,  and  has  a  better 
effect  upon  the  skin.  The  part  of  the  body  covered  by 
the  clothes  is  scarcely  marked  in  comparison  with  the 
parts  exposed — as  the  face  and  hands. 

Remember,  that  this  disease  is  dreadfully  infectious ; 
BO  look  well  after  ventilation,  read  over  carefully  the  direc- 
tions I  gave  when  writing  about  the  sick  room,  and  send 
for  the  doctor. 


CHOLERA.  61 

As  we  know  to  a  slight  extent  the  ravages  of  this 
dreadful  disease,  and  poverty  and  misery  caused  by  it, 
it  is  plainly  the  duty  of  every  one  of  us  to  do  our  utmost 
to  prevent  it ;  and  the  only  way  to  do  this  is  by  vaccina- 
tion. Vaccination  either  prevents  the  person  taking  it  at 
all,  or,  if  it  be  taken,  changes  it  from  a  terribly  fatal  corn^ 
plaint  into  one  which  scarcely  ever  destroys  life  or  sight, 
or  injures  the  patient  in  any  way.  I  have  myself  had 
numbers  of  patients  who  have  been  completely  covered 
with  the  modified  eruption — inside  the  eyelids,  ears,  nose, 
mouth,  and  in  the  throat — but  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  per- 
son die,  or  lose  the  sight,  or  be  disfigured,  ^oho  had  been  pro- 
perly and  successfully  vaccinated. 

This,  then,  is  your  duty.  Get  yourself  and  children 
vaccinated ;  let  no  foolish  person  persuade  you  against  it ; 
and  if  small-pox  breaks  out  near  you,  have  it  done  again. 
It  takes  very  little  time,  it  gives  so  little  pain,  that  it 
may  be  done  without  awaking  a  child  out  of  its  sleep, 
and  it  need  not  keep  you  from  your  usual  employment. 
Let  me  entreat  you  not  "to  neglect  this,  the  only  known 
precaution. ;  if  you  do,  you  commit  a  great  crime,  for  you 
not  only  run  the  risk  of  taking  the  disease  yourself,  but 
of  infecting  the  neighborhood  in  which  you  live 

CHOLERA. 

ASIATIC    CHOLERA. 

Tms  terrible  disease  sweeps  over  the  land  at  times 
like  a  destroying  angel,  leaving  houses  desolate,  and  hur- 
rying thousands  unprepared  into  the  grave.  It  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  you  should  be  able  to  distinguish 
between  common  purging  and  true  cholera.  In  common 
looseness,  you  have  two  kinds — one  where  the  motions  are 
a  dirty  pipe-clay  color,  and  very  offensive,  showing  too 
little  bile ;  in  the  other,  a  bright  yellow  color,  with  some 


62  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

burning,  smarting  pain,  showing  too  much  bile — what  in 
called  bilious  purging. 

Symptoms  of  True  Cholera.  For  one  or  perhaps  for 
two  days,  there  is  gentle  purging;  if  not  stopped  it  quickly 
runs  on  to  the  next  stage.  What  now  passes  from  tho 
bowels  is  not  offensive,  it  is  like  rice  water  or  very  thin 
gruel,  and  all  control  over  the  bowels  is  lost.  It  gives  no 
pain,  there  is  no  straining,  though  there  may  be  very  se- 
vere cramps.  In  a  few  hours  all  strength  is  gone,  the  body, 
the  tongue,  and  even  the  breath  are  quite  cold,  the  nails 
turn  blue,  there  is  great  thirst,  perhaps  constant  vomiting ; 
the  eyes  sink  more  in  a  few  hours  than  they  would  do 
in  months  of  ordinary  illness,  and  the  most  remarkable 
change  takes  place  in  the  voice.  It  becomes  a  small 
squeaking  whisper,  so  unnatural  and  so  peculiar  that  any 
one  who  has  seen  much  of  cholera  could  distinguish  it  in 
a  moment  by  the  voice  alone. 

There  is  no  cure  for  cholera  when  it  once  takes  hold 
of  the  system ;  every  description  of  medicine  likely  to  do 
good  has  been  tried  by  the  most  skilful  physicians,  but  so 
far  we  know  of  no  remedy.  The  tune  to  do  good  is  in 
the  early  stage.  Commence  at  once ;  let  the  patient  get 
to  bed,  apply  hot  bricks  and  fomentations  to  the  extremi- 
ties and  mustard  plasters  to  the  bowels.  He  may  also  at 
first  take  some  hot  drink  to  try  to  bring  on  perspiration. 
In  the  absence  of  a  physician  an  adult  may  take  ten 
drops  of  laudanum  and  ten  of  spirits  of  camphor.  A 
child  of  ten  years  five  of  each ;  a  child  of  five  years 
three  drops  of  each,  and  these  doses  may  be  repeated 
every  twenty  minutes  as  long  as  diarrhoea  or  pain  or 
vomiting  continues.  This  may  save  time,  but  in  all 
cases  send  for  a  physician  at  once. 

All  damp,  dirty  places,  particularly  where  the  water 
is  not  good,  are  most  likely  to  be  visited  by  it. 


BOWEL   COMPLAINTS.  63 

People  who  are  dirty  and  intemperate  have  less  chance 
of  recovery  than  others. 

All  the  discharges  of  a  person  ill  with  cholera  should 
be  at  once  removed  from  the  room,  and  the  utensils  and 
clothing  thoroughly  scalded  with  boiling  water. 

CHOLEKA  MOBBUS. — The  attack  of  cholera  morlras  is 
Tery  apt  to  occur  at  night.  It  is  marked  by  sudden  and 
severe  vomiting,  followed  by  purging  and  accompanied 
by  severe  cramps,  generally  in  the  bowels.  These  are 
temporarily  relieved  by  the  evacuations.  Another  fea- 
ture is  thirst.  At  the  same  time  the  skin  is  quite  cool. 
Generally  speaking,  one  would  recover  from  the  attack 
without  medical  aid,  though  at  the  cost  of  much  suffer- 
ing, which  timely  treatment  may  prevent.  Let  the  per- 
son go  to  bed,  put  a  mustard  plaster  on  the  bowels,  and 
stay  on  his  back  till  the  vomiting  and  purging  have  stop- 
ped for  several  hours.  He  may  take  the  laudanum  and 
camphor  as  directed  for  Asiatic  cholera,  but  not  oftener 
than  after  every  movement  of  the  bowels,  instead  of 
every  twenty  minutes.  When  the  stomach  begins  to 
crave  food,  a  cup  of  hot  tea  will  probably  throw  him  in- 
to a  perspiration,  and  before  that  he  should  take  nothing 
but  the  medicine  and  little  bits  of  ice. 

BOWEL  COMPLAINTS. 

Diarrhoea  occurs  every  summer,  and  is  frequently  fatal 
to  young  children.  Because  it  is  common  at  the  same 
time  of  the  year  that  fruit  is,  it  is  generally  thought  that 
eating  fruit  is  the  cause  of  it.  It  is  said  to  come  in  with 
the  plum  season :  so  it  does,  but  not  because  of  the 
plums,  or  infants  at  the  breast  would  not  so  frequently 
die  of  it.  Ripe,  sound  fruit,  in  its  proper  season,  does 
no  harm,  but -great  good;  but  sour,  unripe,  or  half-de- 
cayed fruit  or  vegetables  are  little  better  than  poison ;  so 


64  TILL  TUB   DOCTOR   COMES. 

I  would  say,  eat  of  the  fruit  of  every  tree  which  is  good 
for  the  use  of  man,  but  have  patience  till  it  is  ripe,  and 
do  not  use  any  part  which  is  decayed  or  rotting.  When 
this  complaint  appears,  it  should  be  attended  to,  not  al- 
ways stopped  immediately,  for  it  is  often  an  effort  of  na- 
ture to  throw  off  something  which  is  better  aw?y ;  but  if 
allowed  to  run  on,  it  becomes  serious. 

Now  comes  the  important  question, — How  to  know 
when  to  stop  the  action  of  the  bowels,  and  when  to  as- 
sist them.  You  may  take  this  as  a  good  general  rule.  If 
what  passes  from  the  bowels  be  very  offensive,  or  if  they 
have  not  been  sufficiently  acted  upon  for  some  days,  then 
clear  them  out  with  a  dose  of  castor-oil  before  you  give 
anything  else. 

In  the  case  of  a  child  it  will  be  as  well  to  use  the 
spiced  syrup  of  rhubarb  instead  of  castor  oil.  A  tea- 
spoonful  may  be  given  an  infant.  In  any  case,  put  the 
child  to  bed,  pin  a  flannel  bandage  tightly  round  the 
bowels,  and  give  no  food  whatever  for  some  hours.  Per- 
fect quiet  upon  the  back  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 
These  latter  directions  should  be  followed  out  in  all  cases 
of  bowel  complaints,  of  whatever  kind. 

If  there  is  pain  in  the  bowels,  apply  either  a  mustard 
plaster  or  else  treat  as  follows :  Make  a  common  dinner 
plate  or  small  dish  quite  hot,  lay  on  some  folds  of  flan- 
nel wrung  out  of  hot  water,  place  the  hot  plate  over  this, 
taking  care  that  the  edges  do  not  extend  beyond  the 
flannel ;  then  cover  with  a  dry  towel.  By  having  two 
plates,  one  at  the  fire  while  the  other  is  in  use,  you  can 
change  them  in  a  moment,  and  get  any  amount  of  heat 
you  require  without  the  weight  of  a  large  poultice. 

After  the  operation  of  the  purgative  medicine  our 
great  reliance  must  be  upon  opium,  and  laudanum  may 
be  given  in  the  doses  recommended  under  the  head  of 
cholera,  after  each  passage.  But  you  should  not  give 


BOWEL   COMPLAINTS.  65 

laudanum  or  even  paregoric  to  a  baby,  except  by  direc- 
tion of  a  physician. 

DYSENTERY  commences  with  fever  and  hot  dry  skin. 
The  child  will  perhaps  scream  as  if  in  a  fright,  and  be 
delirious,  or  have  cold  shiverings  ;  afterwards  a  continual 
desire  to  go  to  stool,  with  straining  pain  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  bowels.  What  passes  is  very  small  in  quan- 
tity, like  jelly,  streaked  with  blood.  When  you  see  this, 
have  the  best  advice  you  can  get.  If  you  are  obliged  to 
act  for  yourself,  adopt  this  plan : — 

Unless  you  are  quite  sure  the  bowels  have  acted  prop- 
erly within  the  last  two  days,  give  a  dose  of  castor  oil. 
But  the  part  of  the  treatment  most  to  be  relied  upon  is 
this : — Make  a  little  thin  starch,  and  to  one  tablespoon- 
ful  of  this  add  one  drop  of  laudanum,  and  with  a  small 
syringe  squirt  this  up  into  the  child's  bowels,  and  keep  it 
there  as  long  as  possible.  This  should  be  used  two  or 
three  times  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  Increase  the  quan- 
tity of  laudanum  by  one  drop  for  each  year  of  the  child's 
age  up  to  five ;  but,  as  I  remarked  before,  for  this  com- 
plaint secure  the  assistance  of  a  doctor  if  within  your 
reach. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  to  scald  with  boiling  wa- 
ter the  vessel  or  bedpan  used  by  a  person  having  dysen- 
tery, as  this  disease  may  be  conveyed  by  the  evacuations. 
In  dysentery,  as  also  in  cholera,  the  privy  vaults  and  wa- 
ter-closets should  be  disinfected  by  a  solution  of  copperas 
(sulphate  of  iron)  poured  into  them  daily.  Eight  or  ten 
pounds  to  five  gallons  of  water  makes  a  proper  solution 
for  the  purpose. 

COLIC,  or  pains  in  the  bowels  without  purging,  com- 
monly called  gripes.  You  may  generally  relieve  this  by 
applying  hot  fomentations,  and  giving  a  dose  of  castor 
oil  with  plenty  of  spice,  such  as  grated  nutmeg,  cinna- 
mon, etc. 


66  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

HOOPING  COUGH  AND  CROUP. 

HOOPING  COUGH  does  not  show  itself  decidedly  in 
two  or  three  days,  like  scarlet  fever  or  measles.  At  first 
there  are  merely  the  symptoms  of  a  slight  cold.  The 
child  has  a  short,  dry  cough,  particularly  when  taking 
food.  This  will  go  on  for  a  week,  or  perhaps  nearly  a 
fortnight,  before  you  hear  the  peculiar  sound,  which  you 
cannot  mistake.  The  fit  of  coughing  is  preceded  by  a 
sort  of  convulsive  drawing  in  of  the  breath,  which,  as  it 
rushes  into  the  chest,  causes  the  whoop.  The  cough 
lasts  for  about  a  minute,  and  generally  ends  in  vomiting. 
The  breathing  is  then  quiet,  and  the  child  appears  pretty 
comfortable  till  the  approach  of  the  next  fit.  In  children 
under  two  years  of  age  this  disease  is  more  dangerous 
than  in  older  ones. 

If  the  child  should  have  convulsions,  seek  advice  im- 
mediately. In  milder  cases,  you  will  find  that  time  and 
plenty  of  fresh  air  in  fine  weather  will  bring  about  a  cure. 
If  the  breathing  be  very  bad,  put  a  good  hot  mustard 
and  oatmeal  poultice  on  the  chest ;  and  if  the  chest  is  a 
good  deal  stuffed  and  the  child  does  not  often  vomit  af- 
ter the  coughing  fit,  a  teaspoonful  of  syrup  of  ipecac  may 
be  given  with  advantage.  When  the  complaint  has  gone 
on  for  some  weeks,  change  of  air  is  the  only  thing  which 
can  be  depended  upon  for  stopping  it.  If  you  allow  the 
child  to  get  cold  while  it  has  this  complaint,  you  cannot 
reasonably  expect  it  to  recover. 

CEOUP  requires  immediate  attention,  for  if  neglected 
it  may  destroy  life  in  one  or  two  days.  It  commences 
vath  hoarseness  and  short  dry  cough.  The  difficulty  of 
breathing  quickly  increases,  and  soon  becomes  very  dis- 
tressing ;  the  child  .fights  for  breath,  and  seems  to  re- 
quire all  its  strength  to  force  the  air  in  and  out  of  the 
chest.  The  face  is  flushed,  the  voice  and  breathing  mako 


CKOUP.  67 

a  peculiar  sound,  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  de- 
scribe, but  which,  if  you  once  hear,  you  will  never  forget : 
it  is  a  sort  of  a  rasping,  grating,  choking  sound,  and  the 
voice,  when  the  child  speaks,  is  something  like  the  noise 
of  a  fowl  when  caught  in  the  hand.  I  would  recommend 
all  mothers  who  have  not  seen  croup  to  do  so,  if  there  be 
a  case  of  it  within  reach,  and  then  they  will  be  able  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  choking  sound  of  mumps  or  com- 
mon sore  throat. 

Night  or  day,  send  at  once  for  a  doctor.  Till  the 
doctor  comes,  proceed  in  -this  way :  Give  one  or  two 
teaspoonfuls  of  syrup  of  ipecacuanha ;  if  needful,  repeat 
it  every  fifteen  minutes  and  give  warm  water  to  drink 
till  the  child  vomits  plentifully;  put  the  feet  into  hot 
water  and  mustard  till  the  skin  is  quite  red,  and  a  good 
large  poultice,  made  with  two  parts  oatmeal  or  bran  and 
one  part  mustard,  well  up  to  the  throat,  and  keep  it  on 
till  it  reddens  the  skin.  Three  hours  after  the  vomiting, 
give  the  child  a  teaspoonful  of  water  with  two  drops  of 
syrup  of  ipecac  in  it,  for  each  year  of  its  age,  up  to  ten 
drops ;  that  is,  for  a  child  one  year  old,  two  drops ;  four 
years  old,  eight  drops;  and  so  on.  Repeat  this  two  or 
three  times  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  The  object  is  to 
keep  the  child  constantly  feeling  sick,  just  on  the  point  of 
vomiting.  If  the  breathing  be  not  relieved  the  first  day, 
you  must  repeat  the  vomiting,  or  the  throat  may  close 
up  and  the  child  be  suffocated.  Mix  in  a  tea-cup  equal 
parts  of  molasses  and  good  common  vinegar ;  let  it  stand 
where  it  will  keep  just  warm,  and  give  the  child  a  small 
teaspoonful  frequently ;  you  may  put  more  or  less  of  each 
article  according  to  the  strength  of  the  vinegar,  as  the 
child  finds  agreeable.  For  croup  and  all  descriptions  of 
sore  throat,  there  is  no  remedy  equal  to  this  old-fashioned, 
simple  mixture.  To  save  a  child  when  taken  ill  with 
.croup,  you  must  attack  it  at  once,  and  act  decidedly. 


6?  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

Always  obtain  advice  if  you  can.  Delays  are  danger- 
ous, but  by  acting  upon  these  directions  you  will  have 
done  all  you  can  safely  till  the  doctor  comes. 

In  any  case  of  difficulty  of  breathing  or  pain  in  the 
chest  you  may  always  safely  apply  a  mustard  and  oatmeal 
or  bran  poultice  till  the  skin  is  red  (and  it  reddens  in  a 
very  few  minutes  in  young  children),  but  never  apply 
leeches  or  a  blister  to  a  child  without  the  doctor's  advice. 


COMMON  COLD  AND  INFLUENZA. 

The  best  plan  to  adopt  with  a  common  COLD,  is  to 
restore  the  proper  action  of  the  skin  as  soon  as  possible. 

Various  methods  may  be  used :  for  instance,  a  person 
feels  that  peculiar  warning,  which  makes  him  say,  "  Now 
I'm  in  for  a  cold,  I  feel  it  coming  on — headache,  chilly., 
creeping  feeling  of  the  skin,  and  a  state  of  miserablenes& 
generally."  If  he  can  manage  it,  let  him  go  at  once  and 
take  a  Turkish  or  common  vapor  bath.  Or  if  he  can  spare 
the  time,  let  him  go  to  bed,  take  ten  grains  of  Dover's 
powder,  with  a  little  sugar,  put  a  large  hot  bran  or  oatmeal 
poultice  all  over  his  chest,  and  in  an  hour  after  the  powder 
take  a  pint  of  hot  tea,  or  thin  gruel,  and  put  on  an  extra 
blanket  or  two.  The  next  morning  he  should  be  well  rub- 
bed all  over  with  a  coarse  towel,  and  take  a  Seidlitz  pow- 
der or  a  large  teaspoonful  of  Epsom  salts,  either  of  them, 
in  warm  water.  But  suppose  it  comes  on  when  business 
must  be  attended  to.  Let  him  put  on  an  extra  quantity 
of  clothing,  drink  a  pint  of  hot  tea,  and  take  a  quick  walk 
till  the  skin  is  quite  damp  with  perspiration,  then  cool 
down  gradually.  If  a  person  has  cold,  not  very  bad,  but 
•what  is  called  "  hanging  about  them,"  a  pint  of  cold  wa- 
ter at  bedtime,  and  a  little  extra  bedclothes,  will  be  an 
excellent  remedy  without  any  medicine.  But  whichever 
plan  you  adopt,  do  not  half  do  it ;  if  you  are  obliged  to 


FITS.  69 

give  way,  do  it  thoroughly,  stay  in  bed  from  twelve  to 
twenty-four  hours,  and  give  the  cold  a  check.  If  you  are 
compelled  to  go  out,  put  on  plenty  of  clothing,  work  hard 
at  your  business,  and  bustle  about  as  much  as  possible. 

INFLUENZA. — I  do  not  know  any  complaint  which  pro- 
duces such  depression  of  spirits  as  this.  I  have  had  strong, 
able  men,  such  as  "  navvies,"  who  work  out  in  all  weath 
era,  come  and  ask  me  if  they  were  likely  to  die  soon,  they 
felt  so  "  down."  Any  one  attacked  with  Influenza  should 
give  up  at  once,  remain  in  bed,  and  encourage  perspiration 
by  every  means  in  his  power.  If  it  can  be  had,  the  Do- 
ver's powder  should  be  taken,  as  in  common  colds,  and 
repeated  if  needful,  and  either  with  or  without  this,  I  have 
found  the  following  preparation  of  milk  very  useful.  It 
is  called  wine  whey,  made  by  putting  two  wineglassfuls 
of  white  wine  and  one  teaspoonful  of  vinegar  to  a  pint  of 
milk ;  simmer  it  very  gently  so  as  not  to  break  the  curd, 
then  strain  and  sweeten.  If  you  are  in  the  country,  get 
the  whey  direct  from  the  dairy.  If  you  are  not  able  to 
get  wine,  use  rum  in  the  sweet  milk.  There  is  no  objec- 
tion to  the  use  of  a  little  spice  to  give  an  agreeable  flavor. 
Either  of  these  may  be  given  in  divided  quantities  very 
frequently,  and  are  generally  very  pleasant  to  the  patient. 

FITS. 

Fits  in  children  generally  arise  from  teething,  worms, 
or  some  other  substance  irritating  the  stomach  and  bowels, 
or  from  something  wrong  with  the  brain.  Supposing  a 
fit  has  come  on,  and  you  have  no  physician  at  hand,  apply 
cloths  dipped  in  hot  mustard  and  water  or  turpentine,  to 
the  feet  and  the  lower  part  of  the  legs  till  the  skin  is  quito 
reddened,  and  cold  water  to  the  head.  While  doing  this, 
have  one,  two,  or  three  tcaspoonsful  of  syrup  of  ipecacu- 
anha, or  mustard  and  warm  water  ready ;  watch  for  an  op- 


70  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

portunity,  and  get  a  sufficient  quantity  swallowed  to  pro- 
duce vomiting.  When  this  is  over,  the  child  will  most 
likely  take  a  long  sleep.  When  you  are  sufficiently  calm 
after  yoro  painful  task,  for  it  is  very  painful  to  sec  a  little 
one  in  such  a  state,  it  becomes  your  duty  to  endeavor  to 
find  out  the  cause,  and  so,  if  possible,  prevent  a  return.  If 
it  be  the  teeth,  lancing  the  gums  may  be  needful ;  if  from  the 
stomach,  a  purgative  dose ;  if  from  worms,  the  treatment 
as  given  in  page  97.  But  perhaps  the  brain  is  at  fault. 
You  should  therefore  procure  the  best  advice  you  can,  and 
do  not  take  the  responsibility  upon  yourself.  But  if  away 
from  medical  assistance,  a  great  deal  can  be  done  by  keep- 
ing the  brain"  free  from  excitement,  strictly  attending  to 
the  digestion,  and  carefully  guarding  the  child  from  eating 
any  of  the  numerous  articles  called  "  trash,"  which  they 
seem  to  eat  for  no  earthly  reason  but  that  they  are  not  fit 
for  them. 

In  adults,  you  will  meet  with  apoplexy,  epilepsy,  and 
other  seizures.  In  nearly  every  case  these  are  so  sudden, 
that  it  is  not  possible  for  you  to  procure  a  doctor ;  and, 
therefore,  it  is  all  the  more  needful  for  you  to  have  an  an- 
swer to  the  question,  "  Can  I  do  anything  ?  and,  if  so,  what 
is  the  best  thing  to  do  ?"  Well,  then,  the  best  thing  you 
can  do,  in  a  fit  of  any  description  is,  first,  to  loosen  the  cloth- 
ing, stays,  collar,  necktie,  cap  string,  or  whatever  there 
may  be.  Suppose  it  be  APOPLEXY.  In  many  cases  this 
is  so  quickly  fatal  that  your  services  will  be  useless ;  but, 
if  not,  you  will  find  the  face  flushed — nearly  purple,  the 
breathing  labored,  like  very  deep  snoring ;  and  all  power 
gone  from  the  limbs.  After  loosening  the  clothes,  raise 
the  head  and  shoulders  well  up,  but  be  careful  not  to  bend 
the  neck  forward  on  to  the  breast.  Apply  cold  to  the  head, 
and  warmth  to  the  feet.  If  you  know  that  the  person  has 
taken  a  meal  shortly  before  the  attack,  give  mustard  and 
water,  or  any  other  emetic  at  hand.  After  this  has  oper- 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


ated,  a  dose  of  purgative  medicine  or  an  injection.  If  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  fluid  cannot  be  swallowed,  and  you 
cannot  excite  vomiting  by  tickling  the  throat,  etc.,  get  from 
the  apothecary  two  drops  of  croton  oil,  on  a  small  bit 
of  sugar  or  butter,  and  put  it  on  the  tongue,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, get  fc  swallowed ;  if  you  be  away  from  an  apothecary, 
or  have  not  the  oil,  you  must  wait  till  you  can  give  some 
ordinary  purgative.  Any  person,  with  a  stout  habit  of 
body,  or  short  neck  and  florid,  crimson  countenance,  should 
carefully  avoid  all  descriptions  of  food  likely  to  disagree 
with  him,  and.  never  eat  a  heavy  meal,  particularly  near 
bedtime. 

In  EPILEPSY  you  have  convulsive  working  of  the  mus- 
cles of  the  face  and  limbs,  and  also  very  frequently  bit- 
ing the  tongue — quite  different  from  the  stupid,  heavy, 
drunken-like  state  of  apoplexy.  All  that  you  can  do 
during  the  fit  is  to  protect  the  patient  from  injury,  and 
get  a  piece  of  india-rubber,  a  towel,  or  handkerchief,  be- 
tween the  teeth,  so  as  not  to  stop  the  breathing,  but  to 
protect  the  tongue.  After  recovery,  endeavor  to  find  if 
possible  the  cause,  and  let  that,  whether  it  be  particular 
kinds  of  diet,  occupation,  or  excitement,  be  abstained  from. 
Sometimes  a  simple  remedy,  such  as  tying  a  bandage  tight- 
ly round  a  leg  or  arm,  will  prevent  an  attack ;  but  gener- 
ally the  seizure  is  too  sudden  to  allow  time  for  anything 
to  be  done.  The  cause  and  treatment  of  this  sad  com- 
plaint are  far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  little  book,  and 
the  remedies  are  such  as  ought  not  to  be  used,  excepting 
under  the  watchful  care  of  a  physician.  All  that  you  can 
do  £  to  guard  your  patient  against  injury,  and  to  avoid 
tiat  cause — if  you  know  it. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

ULCERS  OF  THE  LEG. — It  is  not  an  uncommon  tiling  in 
country  districts  to  find  persons  who  have  been  afflicted 


72  TILL  THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

with  ulcers  for  a  long  time.  They  will  tell  you  that  they 
have  poulticed  with  nearly  every  herb  that  ever  grew,  and 
used  ointments  made  of  almost  every  subrtam-e  \\hichcan 
be  found  either  on  the  earth,  or  in  the  earth,  or  in  the 
waters  under  the  earth ;  yet  they  never  show  the  slightest 
inclination  to  heal,  but  gradually  become  worse,  till  at 
last  the  constitution  breaks  down  under  the  constant  irri- 
tation, the  drain,  and  the  loss  of  exercise  and  sleep. 

No  dressings  will  ever  heal  them  without  proper  sup- 
port. Cut  strips  of  sticking-plaster,  so  long  that  they 
will  nearly,  but  not  quite,  meet  round  the  leg,  and  as 
broad  as  two  fingers.  See  that  the  parts  are  clean  and 
dry;  warm  the  plaster,  take  one  end  of  it  in  each  hand, 
fix  one  end  on  the  sound  part,  pull  the  plaster  down  hard 
and  tight  across  the  wound,  and  see  that  it  does  not  slip ; 
begin  at  the  bottom,  two  inches  below  the  wound,  and  go 
up  to  two  inches  above  it,  letting  the  edge  of  each  piece 
overlap  the  one  below  it  half  an  inch,  exactly  like  slates 
on  the  roof  of  a  house.  Then  put  on  a  bandage,  rather 
tightly,  but  evenly,  from  the  toes  to  the  knee,  and  let  the 
leg  be  kept  up.  The  plasters  must  be  changed  once  a 
week,  or  ofteuer,  as  soon  as  they  become  loose  or  offensive, 
but  not  before.  Never  touch  this  or  any  other  sore, 
when  it  is  healing,  with  a  rag,  but  pour  the  water  on  to  it. 

The  secret  of  curing  these  obstinate  places  is  in  giving 
support  by  the  plaster  and  bandage.  To  do  this  the 
plaster  must  be  pulled  tight  across  the  sore. 

BOILS  AND  CARBUNCLES  are  considered  to  show  pover- 
ty of  the  blood,  and  should  have  a  good  diet,  by  which, 
however,  I  don't  mean  rich  food,  to  cure  them.  But  a 
boil,  however  painful,  is  not  dangerous,  and  seldom  re- 
quires more  than  a  poultice,  or  a  plaster  of  resin  ointment, 
or  the  old-fashioned  but  excellent  soap  and  sugar.  A 
boil  is  a  single  lump,  containing  either  soft  matter  or  a 
harder  substance  called  a  core.  When  this  is  discharged, 


IN-GKOWING   NAILS.  73 

.the  place  heals  up,  and  the  person  feels  little  the  worse. 
A  carbuncle  is  a  much  larger  sore,  sometimes  two  of 
three  inches  wide,  composed  of  cells  like  a  honeycomb. 
The  nape  of  the  neck  is  a  very  frequent  spot  for  one  to 
appear.  They  are  most  painfully  sensitive ;  the  patient 
dreads  the  slightest  touch,  or  even  breathing  upon  it.  If 
you  meet  with  a  case  of  this  description,  seek  advice  at 
once,  and,  in  the  meanwhile,  poultice  and  give  the  best 
diet  you  can. 

WHITLOW  OR  FELON. — Though  in  itself  a  small  affair, 
there  are  few  things  which  cause  such  suffering,  and  which 
are  so  neglected  and  allowed  to  have  their  own  way. 
Surgeons  are  constantly  meeting  with  people  who  have 
lost  bones  of  the  finger  or  thumb,  and  have  stiff  joints  from 
this  cause.  At  the  commencement  great  relief  is  some- 
times obtained  by  soaking  the  part  in  the  following  mix- 
ture: take  half  a  gill  of  strong  vinegar,  and  dissolve  in  it 
a  tablespoonful  of  saleratus  (carbonate  of  potash).  Let 
it  be  used  as  hot  as  can  be  borne,  and  repeat  as  often  as 
the  pain  returns ;  but  if  matter  be  formed  there  are  two 
ways  of  treating  it ;  one  by  allowing  the  matter  to  destroy 
the  parts  and  find  its  own  way  out,  generally  around  the 
nail ;  this  takes  from  two  to  six  weeks  of  severe  suffering ; 
the  other  is  by  making  a  small  opening  down  to  the  bone 
to  allow  the  matter  to  escape,  which  takes  one  moment  to 
do,  gives  relief  in  an  hour,  and  can  be  done  without  giving 
any  pain.  It  is  a  great  pity  for  any  one  so  to  fear  the 
very  slight  operation  as  to  lose  the  use  of  a  thumb  for  life, 
and  if  near  a  surgeon  or  a  public  institution  there  is  in  the 
present  day  no  excuse.  In  either  case  a  poultice  must  be 
constantly  applied. 

IN-GROWING  NAILS. — Some  people  are  much  troubled 

with  the  edges  of  the  nail  of  a  toe  cutting  into  the  flesh. 

The  cause  is,  pressure  on  the  nail,  which  is  strong  and 

round,  so  that  the  edges  are  driven  directly  downwards. 

4 


74  TILL   THE  DOCTOR   COMES. 

Take  a  bit  of  broken  window-glass,  and  scrape  the  arch  of 
the  nail,  till  it  is  so  thin  and  weak  that  it  cannot  resist  the 
pressure,  and  as  a  natural  consequence,  it  will  flatten  and 
become  wider. 

BED  SOEES. — Perhaps  many  persons  will  be  shocked 
when  I  tell  them  that  scores  of  people  die,  when  long  con- 
fined to  bed,  not  of  the  disease  or  accident,  but  of  sores 
caused  by  neglect ;  and  in  numbers  of  cases  neither  patient 
nor  nurse  has  any  idea  of  what  is  going  on.  Particularly 
in  fevers,  the  patient's  mind  is  not  in  a  state  to  complain 
of  a  slight  pain,  therefore  such  sores  must  be  sought  for 
by  the  nurse,  and  prevented.  They  generally  form  about 
the  bottom  of  the  back,  and  about  the  hips.  The  constant 
pressure  of  the  body  causes  a  slight  redness  at  first,  and 
if  attended  to  then  the  mischief  may  be  stopped ;  but  if 
allowed  to  go  on,  the  part  dies,  and  leaves  a  sore  which 
too  frequently  takes  away  all  chance  of  recovery.  Ex- 
amine carefully  every  day,  bathe  the  parts  with  spirit  and 
water,  and  take  off  the  pressure,  first  by  altering  the  posi- 
tion, if  possible,  and  secondly,  by  making  little  pillows  or 
pads,  and  placing  them  so  as  to  bear  the  weight.  The  in- 
dia  rubber  air  cushions  and  rings  are  the  best  for  this  pur- 
pose. Unless  you  do  this,  all  treatment  you  can  adopt 
will  be  of  no  avail. 

TOOTH-ACHE,  EAR-ACHE,  PAIN  IN  THE  FACE. — Fill  the 
ear  on  the  painful  side  with  laudanum,  and  plug  it  with 
a  little  wool  or  lint.  To  do  this  properly  the  person 
should  lay  the  head  on  a  table  with  the  bad  side  upwards ; 
you  need  not  fear  putting  too  much  in,  it  will  do  no  harm. 
First  warm  the  laudanum,  by  letting  the  bottle  stand  for 
a  few  minutes  in  warm  water.  Laudanum  will  not  cure 
tooth-ache  when  the  tooth  is  decayed,  but  it  will  frequent- 
ly give  relief  and  a  good  night's  rest,  till  you  can  have  it 
properly  attended  to. 

THINGS  IN  THE  EYE. — Bits  of  cinder,  insects,  chippings 


THINGS   EST   THE   NOSE   AND   EAR.  75 

of  metal  or  stone,  frequently  get  fixed  in  the  eye,  general- 
ly under  the  upper  lid.  Shut  the  eye,  pass  a  bodkin  under 
the  lid,  press  gently  upon  it  with  your  finger,  and  pushing 
outwards,  against  the  lid,  with  the  bodkin,  sweep  the  little 
nuisance  into  the  inner  corner  of  the  eye.  In  steam-ves- 
sels, where  cases  of  cinder  in  the  eye  are  constantly  occur- 
ring, I  have  found  this  plan  almost  always  succeed.  If 
you  have  not  a  bodkin,  you  can  use  the  head  of  a  smooth 
pin,  or  any  small,  smooth  article ;  or  pull  the  lid  away 
from  the  eye,  put  a  little  slip  of  writing  paper  under  the 
lid,  press  gently  upon  it  and  draw  it  away.  Simply  lift- 
ing the  upper  lid  away  from  the  eyeball  by  taking  hold 
of  the  eyelashes  and  drawing  it  down  over  the  lower  lid 
wi)l  often  suffice.  Sometimes  a  small  chipping  of  iron 
gets  fixed  on  the  ball  of  the  eye,  and  engineers  are  often 
very  expert  in  removing  them  with  the  point  of  a  penknife. 
But  if  you  can  get  a  good  magnet,  it  will  draw  away  the 
chip  of  iron  without  any  risk  of  injuring  the  eye.  It  will 
be  safer  however  to  go  to  an  oculist  for  such  cases. 

THINGS  IN  THE  NOSE  AND  EAK. — Any  one  accustomed 
to  children,  knows  how  apt  they  are  to  push  small  articles, 
such  as  peas,  beans,  and  pebbles,  into  these  places.  If  in 
the  nose,  take  a  pair  of  small  pliers,  or  a  pair  of  scissors 
with  blunt  points ;  put  the  points  into  the  nostril,  and 
then  open  them  gently,  across  the  face — you  will  be  able 
to  stretch  the  nostril  without  giving  pain ;  at  the  same 
time,  put  the  finger  above  the  substance  and  press  it  doAvn- 
wards — not  the  finger  and  thumb,  so  as  to  pinch  the  nose. 
If  this  does  not  answer,  draw  out  the  scissors  and  tickle 
the  inside  of  the  nose,  or  give  a  very  small  pinch  of  smuT, 
so  as  to  make  the  child  sneeze.  Syringing  with  warm 
water  is  the  best  and  the  only  safe  way  for  you  to  use  to 
remove  such  things  from  the  ear.  If  that  fails  go  to  a 
surgeon  at  once.  Peas  and  beans  are  of  more  consequence 
than  stones  or  metal  substances,  for  they  soon  swell  with 


76  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

the  moisture  and  warmth  of  the  place.  I  have  myself 
known  a  pea  left  in  the  nostril  of  a  poor  reglected  child 
till  it  began  to  sprout ;  fortunately  by  that  time  it  had  be- 
come so  soft  that  it  was  easily  broken  down  and  removed, 
and  the  ulcer  prevented  coming  through  the  side.  In  cose 
of  any  insect  getting  into  the  ear,  fill  it  with  oil,  and  the 
insect  will  die  immediately. 

CHOKING.— Bits  of  meat  or  bone— particularly  fish- 
bone—become fixed  in  the  throat,  and  according  to  the  size, 
produce  either  suffocation  (choking)  or  troublesome  tick- 
ling cough, 

Treatment. — If  the  person  be  choking,  give  a  smart  slap 
with  the  open  hand  between  the  shoulders.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  the  sudden  compression  of  the  air  in  the  chest 
will  shoot  the  substance  out  of  the  mouth ;  but  if  not, 
look  into  the  throat,  and  see  if  there  be  anything  you  can 
reach  with  your  finger  and  thumb  or  a  large  blunt-pointed 
pair  of  scissors,  and  pull  it  out.  If  you  do  not  succeed  in 
this,  take  a  silver  or  pewter  tablespoon,  bend  it  a  little,  and 
push  it  down  the  throat.  Keep  quite  to  the  back  of  the 
throat,  and  you  will  do  no  harm.  If  there  be  a  doctor 
near,  send  to  him.  But  this  is  a  case  which  admits  of  no 
delay,  and  the  life  hangs  upon  your  coolness  and  quickness 
of  action. 

If  it  be  only  a  small  substance  in  the  throat,  and  the 
person  can  swallow,  give  plenty  of  bread  or  potato  and 
a  drink  of  water  after  it.  If  this  is  not  sufficient,  give  a 
teaspoonful  of  mustard  and  warm  water,  or  any  other 
emetic  you  have  at  hand ;  and  after  the  person  has  vomit- 
ed, you  will  generally  find  it  all  right.  If  you  do  not 
succeed,  send  for  a  surgeon. 

SUNSTROKE. — This  is  a  sudden  prostration  due  to  long 
exposure  to  great  heat,  especially  when  one  is  much  fatigued 
or  exhausted.  It  commonly  happens  from  undue  exposure 
to  the  sun's  rays  in  summer,  but  I  have  seen  the  same  ef- 


PEOPLE   BEING   FROZEN.  77 

fects  produced  in  a  baker  from  the  great  heat  of  the  bake- 
room.  It  begins  with  pain  in  the  head  or  dizziness,  quickly 
folio  wed  by  loss  of  consciousness  and  complete  prostration. 
Sometimes,  however,  the  attack  is  as  sudden  as  a  stroke  of 
apoplexy.  The  head  is  often  burning  hot,  the  face  dark 
and  swollen,  the  breathing  labored  and  snoring,  and  the 
extremities  cold.  Take  the  patient  at  once  to  a  cool  and 
shady  place,  but  don't  carry  him  far  to  a  house  or  hospital. 
Loosen  the  clothes  thoroughly  about  his  neck  and  waist. 
Lay  him  down  with  the  head  a  little  raised.  Apply  wet 
cloths  to  the  head,  and  mustard  or  turpentine  to  the 
calves  of  the  legs  and  the  soles  of  the  feet.  Give  a  little 
weak  whiskey  and  water  if  he  can  swallow.  Meanwhile  let 
some  one  go  for  the  doctor.  You  cannot  safely  do  more 
than  I  have  said  without  his  advice. 


PEOPLE  BEING  FROZEN. 

Whether  the  whole  body  or  only  a  part  is  affected,  the 
principle  of  the  treatment  is  the  same. 

Avoid  a  sudden  change.  If  a  person  be  found  quite 
benumbed  with  cold,  if  you  take  him  direct  to  a  fire  you 
may  perhaps  destroy  life ;  a  barn,  a  shed,  or  a  room,  which 
feels  very  cold  to  you,  is  warm  enough  at  first.  Remove 
the  clothes  if  wet,  and  rub  the  body  dry,  put  him  into  blank- 
ets, and  give  a  little  warm  wine  and  water,  or  weak  spirit 
and  water,  or  tea ;  after  a  while,  remove  him  to  a  warmer 
room,  but  still  not  near  a  fire,  and  so  gradually  increase 
the  warmth. 

If  you  should  ever  be  so  situated  in  intensely  cold  weath- 
er as  not  to  be  able  to  reach  a  place  of  shelter,  and  find 
your  strength  failing,  look  out  for  a  snowdrift  on  the  side 
of  a  hill  away  from  the  wind  ;  or  if  on  a  plain,  try  to  find 
a  hollow  filled  up  with  snow ;  scrape  a  hole  large  enough 
for  your  body  and  creep  into  it,  then  you  are  comparative- 


78  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

ly  safe :  the  Know  will  shelter  you  from  the  wind  and  keep 
you  warm.  Human  beings  and  sheep  have  lain  for  days 
in  this  way,  and  been  saved.  But  never  forget  the  first 
warning  of  danger.  If  you  feel  a  desire  to  sleep,  and  give 
way  to  it  in  the  open  country,  it  will  be  the  sleep  of 
death;  you  must  keep  in  motion,  however  painful,  or 
perish. 

But  there  is  another  effect  of  cold,  which  is  generally 
caused  by  standing  or  walking  against  a  very  cold  wind, 
which  is  called  being  nipped.  I  have  seen  a  person  sud- 
denly seized  with  great  pain  in  the  bowels,  drawn  togeth- 
er with  cramp,  the  hands  so  swollen  as  to  require  the  gloves 
to  be  cut  off,  and  with  intense  headache.  The  same  treat- 
ment answers :  gradual  warmth,  very  small  quantities  of 
warm  stimulants,  and,  after  a  while,  hot  flannel  to  the  pain- 
ful parts. 

FKOST  BITES  attack  the  extremities  and  projecting  parts 
of  the  body,  hands,  feet,  nose,  ears.  They  are  frequently 
so  rapid  and  free  from  pain,  that  a  person  is  not  aware 
of  anything  being  wrong.  In  Canada,  when  meeting  a 
friend  in  the  street,  I  have  both  given  and  taken  the  cau- 
tion, "  Mind  your  nose,  sir,  it  looks  whitish."  Th<3  blood, 
you  know,  when  warm,  is  fluid,  but  when  it  is  cold  forms 
a  solid  clot — and  you  also  know  that  when  water  or  other 
liquid  freezes,  it  expands,  and  so  breaks  water  bottles  and 
jugs,  and  it  also  becomes  lighter.  Now,  precisely  the  same 
thing  takes  place  in  frost  bites ;  the  blood  in  the  part  gets 
cold  and  runs  slowly,  then  stops,  all  the  little  blood-ves- 
sels are  choked  and  swollen,  you  apply  heat  and  burst 
them,  causing  dreadful  suffering  and  troublesome  wounds ; 
or  if  you  do  nothing,  the  circulation  is  quite  stopped,  and 
the  part  dies  or  mortifies. 

Treatment. — Keep  the  person  away  from  all  heat ;  if 
you  can,  get  clean  snow  and  rub  the  parts  constantly  with 
it ;  or  if  you  cannot  find  snow  get  the  coldest  water.  Let 


CHILBLAINS.  79 

the  patient  himself  rub  if  possible,  for  the  exertion  will 
keep  him  sufficiently  warm.  You  must  continue  this  rub- 
bing for  hours  in  severe  cases,  till  you  get  the  parts  quite 
soft,  and  something  near  the  natural  color.  You  must  not 
allow  any  complaints  or  feeling  of  compassion  to  stop  you* 
rubbing,  or  to  cause  you  to  bring  him  into  a  warm  room. 
Put  on  extra  clothing,  or  let  him  have  a  run  for  a  minute, 
but  do  not  come  near  a  fire.  After  you  have  done  this, 
anoint  well  with  sweet  oil  or  lard,  or  lime  water  and  04!, 
and  wrap  up  well  with  flannel. 

If  you  should  have  any  sores,  dress  them  the  same  as 
burns.  We  had  one  case  on  board  a  steamer,  which  hap- 
pily caused  more  amusement  than  suffering.  The  men 
were  busy  in  the  very  dirty  employment  of  removing  ash- 
es. One  of  the  engineers,  being  off  duty,  had  dressed  him- 
self in  his  shore  clothes  ready  for  a  walk.  After  standing 
some  time  talking,  one  of  the  men  noticed  the  white  patch 
on  his  cheek,  and  instantly  gathering  a  handful  of  snow, 
commenced  rubbing  vigorously.  In  his  eagerness  to  ben- 
efit his  friend,  he  had  forgotten  the  state  of  his  hands,  till 
the  snow  began  to  melt,  which  gave  a  extraordinary  mot- 
tled black  and  white  look  to  the  engineer's  face,  and  lit- 
tle ink-like  streams  trinkled  down  his  best  clothes. 

CHILBLAINS  are  in  truth  the  same  in  every  way  as 
frost  bites,  but  in  a  milder  form.  They  are  more  troub- 
lesome than  dangerous,  though  in  persons  of  weak  circu- 
lation, or  if  neglected,  they  cause  sores  which  last  through 
the  winter. 

Prevention  is  better  than  cure.  The  only  way  to  pre- 
vent them  is  to  wear  warm  clothing  on  the  hands  and 
feet,  keep  up  the  circulation  by  exercise,  and  above  all 
tilings  not  to  bring  them  suddenly  from  cold  to  great 
heat.  This  is  the  whole  secret  of  prevention.  When 
they  are  formed,  but  not  broken,  rub  well  two  or  three 
times  a  day  with  equal  parts  of  turpentine  and  laudanum, 


80  TILL   THE   DOCTOR  COMES. 

or  equal  parts  of  camphorated  spirit  and  soap  liniment, 
or  sweet  oil  and  spirits  of  turpentine,  or  with  an  oint- 
ment made  of  a  teaspoonful  of  dry  mustard  and  an  ounce 
of  lard.  Any  of  these  are  good,  but  if  the  skin  be  bro- 
ken do  not  use  them,  but  dress  them  just  like  a  sore  af 
ter  a  burn,  or  with  the  old-fashioned  but  excellent  appli- 
cation of  chalk  and  tallow ;  but  it  is  not  safe  to  use  the 
grease  of  candles,  as  chemicals  are  so  much  used  in  mak- 
ing them,  but  take  a  little  mutton  tallow,  melt  it  and 
while  warm  mix  it  with  whiting  till  it  is  a  proper  thick- 
ness for  use.  Either  of  these  will  give  almost  immediate 
relief. 

BATHS,  BATHING,  ETC. 

Among  these  miscellaneous  hints  I  may  say  a  few 
words  about  BATHS  and  BATHING.  Cleanliness  not  only 
helps  the  doctor,  but  would  often  prevent  the  necessity 
of  sending  for  him.  " Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness" 
is  a  very  old  saying.  To  speak  of  a  dirty  Christian  seems 
a  contradiction.  It  is  better  for  the  body,  better  for  the 
soul,  and  better  for  those  around  us,  to  be  clean.  I  do 
not  mean  to  find  fault  with  the  small  particles  of  what  a 
man  works  amongst  which  clings  to  him,  such  as  coal  to 
the  collier,  or  iron-f&lings  to  the  smith.  That  is  not  dirt, 
but  merely  the  livery  of  his  trade.  If  you  reside  in  a 
large  town  you  can  have  a  bath  for  a  trifle ;  but  if  not, 
have  a  good  scrub  down  or  a  swim  whenever  you  have 
the  chance. 

COLD  BATHING  should  not  be  used  directly  after  a 
meal,  nor  when  you  are  wet  with  perspiration,  nor  with- 
out advice  when  you  are  ill.  As  soon  as  the  bather  be- 
gins to  shiver,  or  the  nails  turn  blue,  it  is  time  to  stop. 
Always  wet  the  head  first,  or  as  quickly  as  possible  be- 
fore the  feet  get  cold.  In  every  case  rub  the  skin  after 
bathing  till  it  is  warm. 


USEFUL   HINTS.  81 

THE  SHOWER  BATH  can  be  easily  made  by  pouring 
water  through  a  cullender  held  above  the  head  by  anoth- 
er person.  But  do  not  use  it  without  advice,  for  it  is  a 
powerful  remedy. 

A  VAPOR  BATH  is  very  useful  in  cutting  short  an  at- 
tack of  rheumatism  or  severe  influenza  cold ;  and  if  ap- 
plied early,  may  prevent  weeks  of  suflering,  especially  in 
grown-up  people,  and  where  there  are  no  conveniences 
for  a  warm  bath.  Have  the  bed  and  body-linen  ready, 
warm ;  lay  a  bit  of  carpet  on  the  floor ;  let  the  patient 
sit  on  a  chair  with  a  wood  or  cane  bottom  ;  fasten  a  large 
blanket  round  his  neck,  to  reach  well  down  to  the  floor ; 
place  a  bucket,  two-thirds  full  of  hot  water  under  it; 
have  ready  two  bricks  hot  in  the  fire ;  put  one  into  the 
bucket,  and  cover  the  patient  well  up  with  the  blanket, 
like  a  small  tent ;  let  no  cold  air  get  in ;  if  needful,  put 
in  the  other  brick,  and  in  a  short  time  you  will  have  the 
skin  streaming  with  perspiration ;  rub  dry  with  hot  tow- 
els ;  put  on  night-clothes,  and  then  get  to  bed. 

A  WARM  BATH  FOR  A  CHILD  (NOT  AN  INFANT). — Fill 
a  tub  two-thirds  full  of  warm  water,  so  as  not  to  flow 
over  when  the  child  is  put  in,  and  wrap  the  child  in  a 
small  blanket — keep  this  on  while  in  the  bath  to  protect 
it  from  draughts  of  cold  air.  Mothers  who  have  not 
tried  this  plan  have  no  idea  how  it  takes  away  fear  from 
a  young  child,  and  adds  to  its  comfort.  In  trying  the 
heat  of  water,  poultices  or  fomentations  for  a  child,  do 
not  trust  to  your  hand,  which  is  hardened  by  exposure 
and  work  ;  but  to  some  part  more  sensitive,  such  as  your 
arm  or  cheek. 

USEFUL  HINTS. 

In  any  complaint  where  there  is  much  perspiration  do 
not  go  directly  from  a  cold  or  frosty  air  to  the  bedside. 
In  RHEUMATIC  FEVER  the  skin  of  a  patient  is  particular- 
4* 


82  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES.  y^ 

ly  sensitive,  and  you  may  cause  a  chill  which  may  have  a 
bad  effect;  better  wait  in  another  room  for  a  few  min- 
utes. There  is  no  complaint  which  requires  so  much 
gentleness  as  this.  A  person  in  health  can  form  no  idea 
of  the  suffering.  There  is  not  only  racking  pain  in  every 
joint,  but  a  dread  of  being  touched,  or  of  the  slightest 
breath  of  air.  Even  when  not  within  three  or  four  feet 
of  the  patient,  he  will  cry  out  to  you  not  to  tread  upon 
him.  The  banging  of  a  door,  shutting  a  window  down 
violently,  letting  anything  fall, — all  sudden  noises  must 
be  carefully  guarded  against. 

In  CHANGING  THE  DRESS  of  a  patient  suffering  from 
rheumatism,  or  any  sore  on  the  arms  or  upper  part  of  the 
body,  there  is  often  great  and  unnecessary  distress  caused 
by  getting  the  arms  in  and  out  of  the  sleeves  of  the  shirt 
or  night-dress,  or  even  a  chemise,  when  fitted  closely  to 
the  chest.  If  the  nursing  be  likely  to  continue  long,  it 
adds  very  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  both  patient  and  at- 
tendant, to  cut  open  the  sleeves  and  one  side  of  the  gar- 
ment, and  put  on  small  strings  of  tape,  just  as  is  done 
with  the  sleeves  of  a  man's  coat  when  an  arm  is  broken, 
but  nearer  together.  Generally  with  a  long  sleeve  the 
wristband  may  be  left  uncut,  and  the  garment  not  opened 
lower  than  the  waist,  but  this  must  be  determined  by  the 
requirements  of  the  case.  In  cases  of  extreme  debility, 
where  it  is  not  safe  for  the  patient  to  be  raised  even  for  a 
moment,  all  risk  and  inconvenience  may  be  avoided  by 
cutting  open  both  the  dress  which  is  in  wear,  and  the 
frosh  one,  and  lifting  the  patient  on  to  it  just  as  is  done 
in  changing  the  bed-clothes.  This  plan  does  not  destroy 
or  injure  the  clothes  in  any  way,  it  is  merely  the  seams 
which  require  to  be  ripped,  and  they  can  be  sewn  again 
for  ordinary  use. 

Any  one  who  has  seen  LEECHES  used  knows  how  dif- 
ficult it  is  sometimes  to  get  them  to  bite  readily ;  and  the 


USEFUL   HINTS.  83 

old  nurses  can  tell  you  how  they  seemed  to  be  possessed 
with  a  spirit  of  contradiction.     They  will  either  refuse  to 
bite  at  all,  or  will  fasten  anywhere  but  on  the  desired  spot. 
All  sorts  of  instructions  are  given  in  books,  but  most  of 
them  are  useless.     A  leech  partakes  to  some  extent  of 
the  nature  of  a  fish,  that  is,  it  lives  in  water ;  and  there- 
fore, instead  of  holding  them  in  a  warm  hand  or  a  .dry 
towel,  act  in  this  way: — First  wash  the  place  perfectly 
clean,  then  put  your  leeches  into  a  wineglass,  and  fill  it 
with  water ;  put  a  piece  of  paper  over  it,  turn  the  glass 
upside  down  on  to  the  place  where  you  want  them  to  fix, 
and  draw  the  paper  away ;  you  will  find  now  that  the 
leeches  being  in  their  native  element,  are  cool  and  com- 
fortable, and  will  settle  instantly,  thereby  saving  a  great 
amount  of  vexation  and  loss  of  time.     As  soon  as  they 
have  taken  hold,  place  a  towel  round  the  glass  to  soak 
up  the  water,  and  remove  it.     In  this  way  you  get  them 
exactly  where  you  wish,  either  all  on  one  spot  or  distrib- 
uted over  a  larger  space,  by  pitting  on  only  one  or  two 
at  a  time.     If  you  require  one  on  a  very  particular  spot, 
for  instance,  close  to  the  eye,  and  have  not  a  proper  leech- 
glass,  put  its  tail  first  into  a  small  narrow  phial  filled 
with   water.     Where  they  have  to  be  used  inside  the 
mouth,  nostrils,  etc.,  it  is  better  to  pass  a  needleful  of 
thread  through  the  tail  to  hold  by ;  it  will  not  prevent 
them  biting ;  and  if  one  should  be  swallowed,  drink  a  lit- 
tle salt  and  water,  which  is  poisonous  to  them.     Leeches 
are  always  expensive,  but  with  a  little  care  they  need  not 
be  destroyed.     When  they  come  off  do  not  dip  them  in- 
to salt ;  put  them  into  a  large  jar  of  water,  with  an  inch 
or  two  of  turf  or  garden  soil ;  change  the  water  every 
day  for  the  first  week,  then  once  a  week  will  be  sufficient ; 
in  this  way  they  will  clear  themselves  and  recover.    Any 
dead  ones  must  be  removed,  or  they  will  spoil  the  water 
and  destroy  the  others. 


g4  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

There   is  a  secret  in  HANDLING  A  BROKEN  OR  SORE 
LIMB.     Never  take  hold  with  the  points  of  the  fingers  as 
if  you  were  afraid  of  it,  and  keep  your  patient  in  fear 
lest  you  should  let  it  fall.     Take   a  firm  grasp,  let  the 
limb  rest  on  the  palm  of  your  hand,  and  support  it  with 
your  thumb  and  fingers.     All  shaking,  nervous  handling 
of  a  limb  is  misery  to  the  sufferer.     In  the  case  of  bcnes 
being  broken,  it  is  better  to  place  one  hand  belo-w  and 
the  other  above  the  fracture  to  keep  it  level.     For  these 
and  many  other  cases  you  require  what  surgeons  call  a 
cradle  to  support  the  weight  of  the  bed- 
clothes.    Any  handy  man   can   make 
one  with  two  straight  pieces  of  wood, 
and  two  or  three  hoops  off  a  flour  barrel. 
Some  people  are  very  subject  to  SORE  THROAT,  and 
where  it  has  once  happened,  a  slight  cause  is  sufficient  to 
bring  it  on  again,  and  if  neglected  it  frequently  runs  on 
to  ulceration.  You  may  almost  always  check  this,  if  at  the 
very  commencement  you  apply  a  wet  bandage  in  this  way : 
Take  a  piece  of  linen  or  calico  the  breadth  of  four  fingers 
and  three  or  four  feet  long,  dip  this  into  cold  water,  then 
squeeze  it  gently  and  apply  it  round  the  neck,  cover  with 
a  fold  or  two  of  flannel  or  a  woollen  stocking,  and  let  it 
be  kept  on  all  night.     And  for  a  gargle  you  will  find  the 
following  very  valuable :— Put  into  a  jug  a  handful  of  dry 
Sage  leaves,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  salt,  four  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  vinegar,  and  one  teaspoonful  of  cayenne  pepper ; 
pour  upon  these  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  cover  up  close, 
and  after  standing  half  an  hour,  pour  clear  off  through 
a  bit  of  muslin  into  a  bottle. 

I  wish  now  to  draw  the  attention  of  all  who  are  try- 
ing how  to  help  the  doctor,  to  the  subject  of  the  FIRST 
WALK  after  serious  illness.  This  is  a  far  more  import- 
ant matter  than  it  appears  to  be.  It  would  be  quite  safe 
to  say,  that  in  ninety  cases  out  of  every  hundred  it  IB 


USEFUL   HINTS.  85 

overdone,  and  the  patient  made  worse  instead  of  better 
for  the  very  simple  reason  that  there  is  no  thought  of  the 
•  fatigue  of  coming  back  again.  The  usual  plan  is  for  the 
patient  to  walk  away  from  the  house  till  he  feels  tired, 
then  turn  towards  home,  where  he  arrives  faint  and  ex- 
hausted. Never  forget  this  simple  truth:  every  step  ta- 
ken by  an  invalid  after  he  is  fatigued  does  injury.  There- 
fore, when  you  are  out  with  a  patient  for  the  first  walk, 
instead  of  saying  to  him,  "Do  you  feel  tired  now?"  say, 
"  How  tired  will  you  be  when  you  have  done  this  over 
again  ?" 

When  a  patient  is  sufficiently  well  to  sit  up  in  bed,  a 
shawl  is  very  inconvenient.     The  ends  dip  into  the  food, 
and  are  constantly  irritating  the  patient  by  getting  on  to 
the  bit  of  work  going  on.     Then,  again,  it  must  be  either 
fastened  so  tightly  round  the  body  as  to  confine  the  arms, 
or  if  they  are  used,  it  must  be  raised  so  that  both  they 
and  the  chest  are  exposed.  Instead  of  this,  I  would  strongly 
recommend  an  article  I  have  for  many  years  used  amono-st 
my  own  patients,  that  is  a  flannel  jacket,  made  very  loose 
about  the  shoulders  and  arms  and  to  button  from  the  neck 
down  the  front  and  at  the  wrists.     The  neck  and  wrist- 
bands should  be  lined  with  silk  or  other  soft  material  so 
as  not  to  chafe  the  skin.     Let  there  be  two  good  pockets, 
one  for  the  handkerchief  and  the  other  for  the  spectacles,' 
eye-glass,  pencil,  thimble,  and  other  small  things  which 
are  always  going  astray.     The  season  of  the  year,  the 
kind  of  room,  and  nature  of  the  illness,  will  guide  you  as 
to  the  warmth,  and  your  means  as  to  quality.     This  is 
quite  a  distinct  thing  from  the  common  long  dressing- 
gown   used-  when  a  person  is  out  of  bed.     If  you  use 
quite  new  flannel,  it  should  be  well  washed  with  hot  wa- 
ter and  soap  before  being  made  up,  or  the  smell  may  bo 
very  offensive  to  a  person  confined  to  bed. 
Scarcely  a  week  passes  without  some  life  being  lost  by 


86  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

having  either  WRONG  MEDICINE  given  or  an  improper 
dose,  or  some  liniment,  lotion,  or  poisonous  disinfecting 
fluid,  instead  of  medicine.  And  therefore,  in  every  case 
where  you  undertake  to  help  the  doctor,  see  that  the  la- 
bles  on  the  bottles  are  distinctly  written,  and  that  you 
know  without  any  doubt  which  is  to  be  swallowed.  It  is 
too  late  after  an  accident  to  say  you  did  not  understand. 
If,  unfortunately,  the  helper  cannot  read,  let  her  learn  by 
the  smell  which  is  the  rubbing  bottle,  and  keep  it  separate 
from  the  medicine.  If  any  medicines  be  left  when  an  ill- 
ness is  over,  let  them  be  destroyed.  I  do  not  mean  sim- 
ples such  as  you  make  yourselves,  but  powders,  mixtures, 
and  other  things  sent  from  the  apothecary's.  It  is  quite 
right  to  be  economical,  but  not  in  these  matters.  I  once 
knew  a  lady  of  a  saving  turn  of  mind  who  used  to  say, 
"  Pkysic  is  physic,  and  if  it  does  good  to  one,  why  not  to 
another  ?"  and  when  any  fresh  case  of  sickness  occurred 
would  insist  upon  the  old  stock  being  used  up  before  buy- 
ing any  more.  I  need  scarcely  point  out  to  you  the  folly 
of  such  conduct.  Supposing  you  could  ensure  it  being 
good,  which  you  cannot  do,  for  even  •  exposure  to  light 
will  alter  some  drugs ;  you  could  not  tell  if  in  any  partic- 
ular case  it  would  be  suitable ;  or  if  the  label  be  rubbed 
off  and  you  merely  guess  at  the  quantity  to  be  given,  you 
may  commit  a  serious  mistake.  Let  all  bottles  which 
have  contained  mixtures  be  emptied  and  both  them  and 
the  corks  washed  carefully  with  hot  water  and  a  little 
soap,  then  dried  and  put  away  for  future  use. 

Particularly  ought  you  to  be  cautious  not  to  leave 
them  in  the  way  of  children ;  and  never  trust  to  their  be- 
ing safe  because  of  having  a  disagreeable  taste.  No  one 
would  suppose  there  was  anything  tempting  in  the  flavor 
of  a  common  lucifer  match,  and  yet  we  have  had  several 
cases  of  poisoning  by  children  sucking  the  ends  of  them. 
Only  a  few  days  before  this  was  written,  a  boy  who  had 


USEFUL    HINTS.  '  •=  87 


frequently  watched  his  mother  administering  physic, 
caused  the  death  of  his  younger  sister  by  giving  her  a  tea- 
cupful  of  turpentine,  and  another  has  lost  his  own  life 
l>y  drinking  sulphuric  acid.  When  following  out  the  di- 
rections of  the  doctor,  be  particular  even  in  what  you  may 
consider  little  things — little  only  to  you,  remember,  be- 
cause you  do  not  see  the  reason  for  them.  For  instance, 
he  will  direct  you  when  giving  some  powders  to  mix 
them  with  sugar  and  not  with  preserve,  because  he  knows 
that  the  acid  in  preserve  would  destroy  the  medicine. 
In  another  case  he  will  direct  you  to  keep  from  your  pa- 
tient all  bread,  and  almost  every  description  of  vegetable 
— to  feed  him  almost  entirely  on  animal  food.  You  will 
think  this  very  unnatural — true,  it  is  so — but  so  is  the 
complaint,  and  requires  an  unnatural  diet;  and  in  this 
particular  disease,  the  chance  of  recovery  depends  not 
upon  drugs,  but  on  the  faithfulness  with  regard  to  diet  in 
those  to  whom  is  entrusted  the  important  question  of  how 
to  help  the  doctor. 

CAUTIONS  AGAINST  COMMON  ERRORS. 

I  find  a  very  common  error  amongst  ignorant  people 
is  to  suppose  that  all  medicine  ought  to  act  as  a  purgative, 
that  is,  to  open  the  bowels ;  indeed,  they  cannot  believe 
that  it  is  likely  to  do  any  good  if  it  does  not  do  so.  I  re- 
member once  seeing  a  patient  with  a  severe  chest  com- 
plaint. The  doctor,  who  had  seen  her  before,  remarked 
that  she  was  very  much  better.  "  Indeed  !"  said  her  moth- 
er, "  I  don't  see  what  could  make  her  better,  for  the  pills 
you  ordered  have  done  nothing." 

I  mention  this  for  two  reasons :  first,  that  this  is  quite 
a  mistake,  for  in  many  cases  it  would  take  away  the  pa- 
tient's chance  of  recovery ;  and,  secondly,  to  warn  you 
against  the  foolish,  expensive,  and  injurious  habit  many  pco- 


88  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

pie  have  of  taking  quantities  of  aperient  pills  and  other 
drugs.  Few  of  you  are  aware  of  the  number  of  lives  lost 
by  strong,  hurtful  medicines.  I  have  myself  seen  a  man 
die,  after  being  a  few  hours  in  the  hospital,  whose  history 
is  worth  recording.  He  told  us,  that  when  he  first  felt  ill, 
he  read  a  description  of  some  wonderful  pills,  which  were 
to  do  great  things  for  him ;  he  took  at  first  only  two  at  a 
time,  but  soon  found  that  he  was  obliged  to  continue  tak- 
ing them,  and  constantly  increasing  the  number,  till,  when 
I  saw  him,  his  regular  dose  was  sixteen  pills  every  second 
night.  By  that  time  nature  could  stand  against  the  abuse 
no  longer,  and  he  died. 

Some  years  ago  I  met  with  an  educated  lady,  who 
recommended  some  pills  very  highly,  and  as  she  expressed 
it  (and  thereby  let  out  the  secret),  "  Indeed,  I  could  not 
live  without  them :  I  have  used  them  for  a  long  time,  and 
now  take  forty-two  twice  a  week  regularly !"  If  you  read 
carefully  some  of  the  advertisements  of  these  wonderful 
quack  medicines,  you  must  see  that  they  cannot  possibly 
be  true.  According  to  them  all  diseases  arise  from  one 
cause,  and  if  you  only  take  their  medicine  you  will  soon 
be  in  perfect  health  ;  in  other  words,  you  need  never  be 
ill,  and  never  die  but  of  old  age.  In  some  new  countries 
where  the  inhabitants  are  very  widely  scattered,  and  no 
doctor  can  be  found  within  a  day's  journey, '  there  may 
be  some  excuse  for  buying  what  are  called  patent  medi- 
cines, but  not  in  any  part  of  the  country  where  good  ad- 
vice may  easily  be  had. 

In  the  same  way,  never  consult  a  doctor  who  is  obliged 
to  publish  his  wonderful  skill  and  cures  in  a  newspaper. 
Depend  upon  it,  if  a  doctor  be  clever  and  understands  his 
profession  as  he  ought  to  do,  people  will  find  it  out  with- 
out any  newspaper  advertisement. 

It  is  astonishing  how  careless  some  people  are  in  tak- 
ing dangerous  medicines.  I  was  once  called  in  to  a  gen- 


CAUTIONS   AGAINST   COMMON   EKKOKS.  89 

tleman,  forty  years  of  age,  whom  I  found  lying  on  the 
floor  in  a  most  pitiable  state,  vomiting,  purging  blood,  with 
fearful  cramps  and  pains.  I  could  obtain  no  information 
as  to  the  cause  of  attack ;  he  had  been  at  the  office  as  usu- 
al, and  walked  home  a  distance  of  three  miles.  After 
adopting  suitable  treatment  for  several  hours,  I  left  him 
very  much  relieved,  and  the  next  day  he  was  sufficiently 
restored  to  give  me  the  history  of  the  affair.  He  said,  "I 
was  in  my  usual  health,  but  a  little  bilious,  and  thought 
a  dose  of  calomel  would  do  me  good.  I  called  at  a  confec- 
tioner's and  bought  an  ounce  of  calomel  lozenges ;  as  I  came 
out  I  asked, '  what  strength  ?'  '  One  grain,'  answered  the 
•  lady ;  so  I  kept  taking  them  all  the  way.  I  had  not  tak- 
en any  food  since  morning.  After  being  at  home  about 
two  hours,  I  Avas  seized  with  horrible  pains,  and  was  dying 
when  you  came  and  saved  me.  That's  all  I  can  tell  you 
about  it."  "Now,"  I  said,  "  let  me  see  the  lozenges  you 
have  left."  When  I  examined  them  I  found  each  one 
stamped  "  calomel,  one  grain."  By  having  the  remainder 
weighed,  I  found  that  during  his  long  walk  he  had  eaten 
fourteen  of  them.  Here  is  an  instance  of  an  educated  man 
filling  a  high  station  under  Government,  taking  this  fright- 
ful quantity  of  a  powerful  drug  without  first  ascertaining 
whether  each  lozenge  was  sufficient  for  a  dose,  or  whether 
tbo  whole  ounce  was  to  be  taken,  which  he  SUPPOSED  was 
the  case. 

Have  full  confidence  in  your  doctor ;  never  attempt  to 
deceive  him,  lor  he  is  almost  sure  to  find  it  out,  and  will 
certainly  not  respect  you  for  it.  Do  not  be  content  with 
simply  telling  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  but 
tell  him  the  whole  truth.  I  once  asked  a  lady,  who  had 
then  only  two  more  days  to  live,  what  quantity  of  brandy 
she  took  in  a  day.  She  said,  "  Three  wineglassfuls ;"  this 
was  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  but  it  was  very 
far  from  being  the  whole  truth,  for  she  had  thirteen  ! 


90  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

Do  not  forget  that  you  are  infinitely  more  obliged  to 
the  doctor  for  spending  years  of  toil  and  study,  for  leav- 
ing his  home  at  all  hours,  and  exposing  himself  and  family 
to  the  danger  of  infection,  than  he  can  be  to  you.  Even 
though  you  should  not  be  in  a  position  to  pay  him  in 
money,  yet  you  can  cheer  him  on  his  way  by  showing  him 
a  thankful,  grateful  spirit. 

"We  are  told  in  the  Bible  that  "  the  spirit  of  a  man  will 
sustain  his  infirmity;"  be  careful,  then,  to  do  all  in  your 
power  to  keep  up  that  spirit :  be  cheerful,  be  hopeful,  be 
trustful.  Let  your  motto  be,  "  Never  despair,"  for  in  most 
cases  while  there  is  life  there  is  hope.  Give  the  patient 
every  opportunity  of  recovering  by  following  out  all  the 
directions  of  the  doctor,  not  only  by  doing  and  giving, 
but  what  is  far  more  difficult,  by  not  doing  and  not  giv- 
ing, but  each  in  its  proper  place. 

HOW  TO  HELP  WITH  AN  INFANT. 

A  babe  in  a  house  is  a  well-spring  of  pleasure,  a  mes- 
senger of  peace  and  love.  The  young  husband  walks 
about  with  his  head  some  inches  higher  than  usual,  and 
feeling  proud  and  big  with  his  newly-acquired  title  of 
father.  The  young  wife  is  smiling  through  her  tears  with 
the  joy  of  having  become  a  mother.  Baby  has  arrived, 
exactly  like  its  mother,  and  the  very  image  of  its  father, 
and  the  doctor  says  "  It's  a  bonny  little  thing,  sound  wind 
and  limb,"  and  he  hopes  it  will  be  a  comfort  to  them. 

Now  what  are  we  to  do  with  it,  the  most  helpless  of 
all  young  creatures  ?  What  is  done  with  it  every  day  ? 
First  it  is  washed,  then  some  spirits  is  rubbed  on  its  head, 
one  or  two  caps,  and  perhaps  some  flannel  are  put  on,  and 
it  is  dressed.  Then,  of  course,  it  must  begki  life  by  tak- 
ing some  sort  of  physic,  either  castor  oil  and  sugar,  or 
butter  and  sugar  made  into  a  thick  paste ;  shortly  after 


DRESSING. 


91 


this  it  is  laid  on  its  back,  and  some  gruel  is  poured  down 
its  throat,  and  it  is  put  to  bed :  but  alas !  not  to  sleep.  In 
a  little  while  it  begins  to  cry,  and  it  is  so  uneasy  that 
something  has  to  be  given  to  make  it  sleep,  or  there  will 
be  no  rest  either  for  itself  or  others.  If  it  has  been  suffi- 
ciently crammed,  and  unfortunately  has  not  been  sick,  it 
is  very  likely  to  have  a  convulsive  fit,  and  after  a  hard 
day's  work  the  doctor  will  be  roused  out  of  bed  to  find  it 
suffering  misery  from  all  this  interfering  with  nature,  or 
to  find  it  already  gone  where  thousands  of  infants  have 
been  sent  before  it.  Now  all  this  is  an  abomination :  it  is 
ignorance  and  cruelty,  and  it  does  not  make  it  one  whit 
less  so  for  the  helper  to  say  she  did  it  out  of  kindness  :  it 
is  inflicting  pain  upon  both  mother  and  child  when  there 
is  no  occasion  for  it. 

Now  let  an  old  physician,  who  loves  children  and  has 
watched  over  hundreds  of  them,  plead  for  these  helpless 
little  ones.  Let  me  tell  you  a  few  plain  truths.  There  is 
no  oil  nor  any  other  medicine  needed  for  an  infant  that 
has  a  mother  to  suckle  it.  The  first  supply  of  milk  is  pur- 
gative, and  quite  different  from  what  comes  afterwards. 
No  infant  requires  food  the  first  twenty-four  hours  ;  no  in- 
infant  ever  died  for  want  of  food  the  first  day  of  its  exist- 
ence, but  hundreds  have  died  from  over-feeding.  And  I 
need  not  say  give  no  spirit  or  soothing  mixture,  for  if  you 
do  not  abuse  its  stomach,  but  have  faith  and  leave  it  to 
nature,  you  will  not  require  any. 

As  to  the  dressing,  there  is  almost  always  sufficient 
notice  for  you  to  prepare  the  things,  and  with  very  little 
trouble,  a  few  tapes  and  a  needleful  of  cotton,  you  may 
do  away  with  the  dangerous  practice  of  using  pins.  You 
will,  perhaps,  think  this  caution  not  required,  but  if  you 
had  seen  as  many  torn  limbs  and  deep  scratches  in  an  in- 
fant as  I  have,  you  would  not  think  so.  Only  this  last 
month  there  was  an  instance  of  a  child  who  was  very  rest> 


92  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

less  and  uneasy,  and  who  would,  if  a  little  older,  havo 
been  scolded  and  punished  for  being  cross,  and  on  careful 
examination  a  broken  needle  more  than  an  inch  long  was 
found  in  its  side,  which  would  have  gone  through  had  it 
not  been  turned  aside  by  a  rib,  and  there  it  had  lain  for  a 
month.  No.  Wash  the  little  stranger  with  lukewarm 
water  and  soap,  and  dry  the  skin  well,  use  no  spirit,  fasten 
the  clothes  on  not  too  tightly  with  strings  or  a  needleful 
of  cotton.  It  is  better  not  to  have  any  cap,  for  the  border 
is  very  apt  to  tickle  and  rub  the  face ;  but  if  you  must  have 
one ,  let  it  be  as  thin  and  light  as  possible.  Give  it  nothing  ; 
or  if  you  cannot  resist  the  temptation,  let  it  have  occasion- 
ally a  teaspoonful  of  milk  and  warm  water  not  too  sweet, 
till  the  proper  supply  comes ;  but  no  oil,  no  butter,  no 
gruel,  no  spirit,  no  mess  of  any  kind,  but  with  its  body 
clean  and  its  tiny  breath  sweet  and  pure,  lay  it  in  its 
proper  warm  nest,  the  place  which  God  has  appointed  for 
it,  and  child,  mother,  and  nurse  will  have  a  calm,  quiet 
sleep,  such  as  all  the  drugs  in  the  world  cannot  give,  but 
which  you  may  almost  always  enjoy,  if  you  will  exercise 
good  plain  common  sense  when  you  are  trying  how  to  help 
the  doctor. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  as  the  infant  grows,  particu- 
larly if  it  be  what  the  nurses  call  "  a  hungry  child,"  it 
may  require  a  little  artificial  food,  for  if  it  drains  off  the 
nourishment  from  its  mother's  breast  so  constantly  that 
the  milk  has  not  time  to  be  properly  formed,  it  becomes 
thin  and  watery.  The  consequence  is  that  it  passes  almost 
directly  through  the  stomach,  and  the  child  is  never  sat- 
isfied. This  comes  very  hard  upon  the  mother.  In  this 
case  it  is  better  to  help  both  mother  and  child.  I  do  not 
know  any  thing  so  good  for  this  purpose  as  biscuit  pow- 
der, which  you  can  get  ready  ground  at  the  flour  dealer's, 
or  if  not,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  get  a  good  sound  com- 
mon biscuit  without  any  butter  or  flavor  of  any  kind.  If 


BOOKING   THE   CRADLE.  93 

you  are  near  a  seaport  town,  the  captain's  biscuit  is  ex- 
actly what  you  want.  Rub  a  bit  of  this  fine  and  simmer 
it  in  water  till  quite  smooth,  than  add  milk  till  it  is  the 
thickness  of  good  cream,  and  sweeten  a  little.  If  you 
give  two  or  three  teaspoonfuls  of  this  just  before  he  takes 
his  natural  food,  it  will  give  it  sufficient  body  to  be  satis- 
fying, and  do  the  child  no  harm.  I  prefer  this  to  almost 
any  artificial  food,  and  have  used  it  for  thirty  years ; 
but  for  a  change,  bread,  sago,  arrowroot,  and  other  things 
may  be  substituted.  It  is  not  of  so  much  consequence 
which  you  use  as  how  you  use  them,  only  be  guided  by 
this  fact — that  a  child's  natural  food  is  milk,  and  if  you 
give  anything  much  thicker  than  this,  you  will  do  harm. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  every  time  a  child  cries 
it  is  hungry.  The  only  way  an  infant  can  ask  for  anything 
is  by  crying.  It  may  have  pain  in  its  limbs  from  being 
cramped  up  too  long  in  one  position,  or  from  a  hard 
crumb,  or  a  pin,  or  from  illness ;  but  as  yet  it  has  no 
power  to  use  words ;  it  can  only,  by  crying,  say  it  wants 
something,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  those  about  it  to  find  out 
what. 

Now  allow  me  to  say  a  few  words  about  habits.  No 
one  who  has  actually  proved  it  has  any  idea  how  very 
early  in  life  an  infant  can  be  taught  a  habit,  particularly 
cleanliness,  by  a  slight  amount  of  trouble  and  regular  at- 
tendance every  day.  If  any  young  wife  should  read  this, 
let  me  assure  her  that  this  is "  not  one  of  those  impos- 
sible things  that  are  all  very  well  in  books,  but  no  one 
ever  thinks  of  doing."  Let  her  only  try  it,  and  she  will 
soon  be  convinced.  I  have  seen  infants  only  a  few  months 
old,  who  gave  no  more  trouble  than  a  child  three  years 
ild,  except,  of  course,  requiring  assistance. 

About  rocking  the  cradle.  It  is  foolish  to  teach  a 
ehild  to  expect  you  to  work  at  the  cradle  when  it  goes  to 
Bleep ;  it  occupies  time,  and  does  the  child  no  good.  The 


94:  TILL   THE  DOCTOR   COMES. 

next  habit  is  even  worse,  that  is,  teaching  the  child  to 
compel  you  to  walk  about  with  it  till  it  chooses  to  fall 
asleep,  and  then  to  put  it  to  bed  without  awakening  it, 
which  you  may  try  to  do  five  or  six  times  without  suc- 
ceeding, and  each  time  have  to  begin  your  walk  again. 
Begin  as  you  intend  to  go  on.  Lay  it  down  awake,  and 
if  nature  requires  it,  sleep  will  come,  and  if  not,  no  rock- 
ing will  force  it ;  but  this  must  be  taught  from  the  very 
beginning.  A  healthy  infant  ought  to  sleep  twenty  hours 
out  of  the  twenty-four,  during  its  first  month,  which  it 
will  do  without  any  rocking,  and  it  is  a  great  pity  for  you 
to  teach  it  anything  different. 

Never  give  an  infant  cold  castor  oil,  it  is  too  thick 
and  sticky ;  put  it  with  an  equal  quantity  of  milk  into  a 
teacup,  add  a  little  sugar,  and  warm  it ;  it  will  then  be 
quite  fluid  ;  stir  it  well,  and  the  child  will  take  it  with- 
out difficulty.  When  a  child  is  cutting  teeth,  there  is 
always  some  feverishness  and  irritation.  If  the  bowels 
be  a  little  relaxed,  do  not  be  in  any  hurry  to  interfere ; 
but  if  this  requires  to  be  checked,  do  not  fly  to  soothing 
syrup,  infants'  preservatives,  paregoric,  or  laudanum ;  they 
are  nearly  all  dangerous — one  drop  of  laudanum  has  kill- 
ed an  infant.  Try  the  following  simple  remedy  first,  and 
if  it  does  not  answer,  consult  a  doctor:  Take  a  large 
teacupful  of  fine  flour,  tie  it  up  as  tightly  as  you  can  in  a 
cloth,  and  boil  it  for  four  hours ;  then  hang  it  up  in  a 
warm  room  till  it  is  dry.  You  will  find  now  that  the  out- 
side is  quite  hard,  like  the  shell  of  a  cocoanut ;  break  some 
of  this  oft*,  and  scrape  out  from  the  inside  as  much  as  you 
require  ;  boil  this  in  niilk  till  it  is  the  thickness  of  cream, 
sweeten  a  little,  and  feed  the  child  with  it  for  a  day  or  two. 

When  the  teeth  are  coming  through  the  gums,  do  not 
give  the  child  any  hard  substance  to  chew,  such  as  coral 
or  ivory,  which  breaks  the  enamel  off  the  points  and 
makes  them  decay ;  the  best  thing  is  india-rubber,  which 


THRUSH   AND  TOOTH   KASH.  95 

you  can  get  at  the  druggists'  or  lubber  shops;  before 
using  it  the  first  time  wash  it  Avith  warm  water,  and  rub 
it  over  with  a  little  molasses  or  sugar ;  you  will  find  this 
a  g*eat  comfort  to  the  child,  and  it  is  perfectly  safe.  A 
child  may  not  need  animal  food  till  it  has  teeth  to  chew 
it  with,  but  during  the  second  summer  meat  is  essential 
to  its  welfare,  and  should  be  given  in  preference  to  the 
starchy  things  so  much  in  vogue. 

A  very  frequent  complaint  of  infants  is  the  THRUSH 
or  "  frog."  The  mouth  is  lined  with  white  spots,  exactly 
like  fine  curds  of  milk ;  and  though  in  this  stage  it  may 
not  do  the  child  much  harm,  it  must  not  be  allowed  to 
run  on.  The  usual  remedy  is  borax  and  honey.  A  much 
better  one  is  equal  parts  of  borax,  saltpetre,  and  loaf 
sugar,  rubbed  well  together ;  a  small  pinch  put  into  the 
child's  mouth  three  times  a  day.  Keep  it  in  a  dry  place. 
Or  you  may  dissolve  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  chlorate  of 
potash  in  two  thirds  of  a  tumbler  of  warm  water  and  use 
it  as  a  mouth  wash. 

A  child  is  during  teething  subject  also  to  an  eruption 
of  small  red  spots,  which  the  nurses  call  TOOTH  RASH.  A 
few  doses  of  calcined  magnesia  will  generally  set  this 
right.  When  the  gums  are  swollen,  very  red,  and  pain- 
ful, you  should  let  your  doctor  see  them ;  they  may  re- 
quire to  be  lanced.  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
when  this  is  done  in  proper  cases  and  at  the  proper  time, 
it  will  save  a  child  from  days  and  nights  of  suffering,  and 
from  convulsions  •,  but  great  comfort  can  be  given  by 
simply  rubbing  the  gums  gently  with  a  finger  and  the 
least  morsel  of  butter,  and  giving  a  dose  of  cooling  medi- 
cine. If  convulsions  should  occur,  put  the  little  one's 
feet  into  hot  mustard  and  water  till  the  skin  is  quite  red ; 
give  a  dose  of  purgative  medicine ;  apply  cold  water  to 
the  head  ;  and  send  for  your  doctor. 

Never  frighten  a  child  by  mentioning  the  doctor  in 


96  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

any  way  as  a  punishment;  one  would  think  that  a  mo- 
ment's reflection  would  convince  any  person  of  the  ex- 
treme folly  of  doing  this.  How  can  a  physician  find  out 
the  true  state  of  a  child's  pulse,  or  breathing,  or  the 
countenance  when  the  poor  little  thing  is  trembling  with 
fear  ?  I  was  once  attending  a  little  girl  about  four  years 
of  age,  and  as  usual  we  got  on  very  well  together ;  but 
after  some  days  the  child  would  not  come  to  me,  but  was 
so  nervous  and  agitated  that  I  could  do  no  good.  On 
making  inquiry,  I  found  that  her  mother  had  told  her 
that  if  she  did  not  do  as  she  bid  her,  the  doctor  would 
come  and  "  cut  her  head  off."  Of  course  the  child  be- 
lieved her  own  mother,  and  therefore  no  wonder  she 
looked  upon  me  with  horror.  After  a  while  I  succeeded 
in  restoring  confidence.  I  told  her  I  would  come  to  see 
her  when  she  was  ill,  nay,  even  if  she  had  some  dreadful 
fever,  when  others  could  not  come  to  her,  I  would  never 
forsake  her,  and  so  on.  Young  as  she  was,  she  very  soon 
discovered  that  her  mother  had  told  her  an  untruth.  Now, 
instead  of  holding  up  the  doctor  as  a  bugbear  to  terrify 
a  child,  try  to  impress  upon  it  that  he  comes  on  a  visit  of 
mercy,  then  it  will  be  calm  and  trustful,  and  the  doctor 
will  have  a  better  chance  of  restoring  his  patient  to 
health. 

It  is  dreadful  to  hear  of  the  abominable  cruelty  prac- 
ticed on  poor  helpless  children  by  the  stupid  ignorance 
of  some  parents.  How  often  do  they  get  a  blow  or  get 
punished  when  they  ought  to  have  medicine  and  careful 
nursing  !  I  say  nothing  here  of  the  numbers  of  innocents 
overlain  and  otherwise  killed  by  drunken  mothers — their 
name  is  legion — but  from  stupidity  and  want  of  common 
thought.  Look  at  this  case,  which  has  just  been  published 
in  the  newspapers.  A  boy  is  taken  into  a  yard  naked, 
and  buckets  of  cold  water  poured  over  him ;  is  beaten 
every  day,  kept  without  food,  not  allowed  a  bed  to  lie 


WOKM6.  97 

on,  chained  to  a  post,  and  other  cruelties,  till  he  is  nearly 
dead.  And  why  ?  Because  he  was  not  clean  in  his  habits. 
When  he  was  taken  to  the  hospital,  it  was  found  that  the 
poor  little  thing  had  been  suffering  for  months  from  a 
very  painful  disease,  which  made  it  impossible  for  him  to 
act  as  a  child  in  health  would  do,  and  which  without  the 
brutality  of  his  father  would  have  destroyed  him  in  a  few 
days  had  he  not  been  rescued. 

When  taking  an  infant  out,  and  you  require  to  shade 
its  face  from  the  sun  or  wind,  be  careful  that  the  hand- 
kerchief, or  whatever  you  use,  does  not  touch  the  face. 
Few  people  are  aware  what  a  slight  thing  will  suffocate  a 
child  if  its  hands  be  fastened  so  that  it  cannot  use  them. 
A  very  fine  child  lost  its  life  in  this  way  not  very  long 
since.  A  silk  handkerchief  was  thrown  over  its  face,  and 
the  wind  blew  it  against  the  mouth  and  nose ;  so  that 
every  time  the  infant  gasped  for  air,  it  sucked  in  the 
handkerchief  still  closer,  and  as  it  could  not  cry,  there 
was  nothing  to  arouse  its  mother,  till  on  her  arrival  at 
home  she  found  it  dead. 

One  of  the  common  ailments  of  children  is  WORMS. 
If  you  notice  a  child  grinding  its  teeth,  rubbing  its  nose, 
and  otherwise  complaining  of  itching,  and  the  appetite 
uncertain,  your  suspicions  may  fairly  be  aroused,  but  the 
only  positive  evidence  of  worms  is  in  finding  them  in  the 
child's  evacuations.  They  sometimes  cause  serious  ill- 
ness, which  is  known  as  "  worm  fever."  You  may  pre- 
vent this  by  a  little  timely  attention,  without  giving  them 
the  common  worm  cakes,  and  such  like  remedies,  which 
nearly  all  contain  calomel.  For  a  child  about  four  years 
old,  make  a  tea  as  follows : — Get  half  an  ounce  of  pink- 
root  and  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  senna  and  of  fennel. 
Put  a  pint  of  boiling  water  on  them  and  give  a  table- 
spoonful  three  times  a  day. 

Do  not  be  anxious  to  make  an  infant  stand  or  walk  too 


98  TILL   THE   DOCTOR   COMES. 

early.  Because  one  child  walks  at  a  certain  age,  it  ia  no 
reason  why  another  should;  it  must  depend  upon  the 
strength  and  fitness  of  the  child  to  do  it.  When  the 
bones  and  muscles  are  sufficiently  strong,  the  child  will 
start  of  its  own  accord ;  and  if  you  force  it  before  this 
time,  you  run  great  risk  of  having  the  limbs  bent.  It  is 
perhaps  as  well  for  you  to  know  that  there  is  a  disease  in 
which  the  bones  remain  soft,  and  bend  under  the  weight 
of  a  child,  for  years. 

Mothers  frequently  suffer  a  good  deal  of  anxiety  from 
a  child  having  swallowed  a  marble  or  coin  /  but  it  is  very 
seldom  there  are  any  bad  effects.  The  best  plan  is  to 
give  the  food  a  little  more  solid  than  usual,  and  no  purga- 
tive medicine.  It  is  very  surprising  how  sharp-pointed 
articles  are  swallowed  and  find  their  way  not  only 
through  the  stomach,  but  through  the  substance  of  the 
body  till  they  reach  the  surface.  I  have  removed  a  nee- 
dle from-  the  arm  of  a  young  woman,  who  swallowed  it 
seven  years  before. 

Do  not  apply  a  blister  to  a  child  without  advice,  and 
if  ordered  by  a  doctor,  be  particular  to  remove  it  at  the 
proper  time ;  if  left  too  long,  it  may  cause  serious  trouble. 
Bear  in  mind  that  the  effect  of  a  fly  blister  goes  on  long 
after  it  is  taken  off.  If  you  are  obliged  to  use  anything 
of  the  sort,  mustard  is  safer  and  quicker. 

It  sometimes  happens  when  people,  but  particularly 
children,  are  ill  of  some  serious  disease,  when  it  is  at  the 
crisis,  or  what  is  called  "  at  the  turn,"  they  take  some  odd 
fancy  in  the  way  of  food ;  they  will  ask  for  some  articles 
quite  out  of  the  common  way,  perhaps  something  which 
you  are  not  aware  they  have  ever  tasted.  In  these  cases 
I  have  always  found  it  better  to  let  a  child  have  it,  even 
at  some  trouble  and  expense.  I  look  upon  it  as  a  craving 
of  nature,  for  they  not  only  enjoy  it,  but  live  upon  it  for 
days;  then  when  it  has  done  the  particular  work  for 


USEFUL    HINTS.  99 

which  it  was  intended,  the  child  takes  a  dislike  to  it,  and 
will  not  touch  it  again.  There  are  two  cautions  to  be  ob- 
served here — first,  this  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
fanciful  appetite  of  a  disordered  stomach,  where  a  dozen 
different  things  are  asked  for  in  the  day,  and  not  one  of 
them  eaten ;  and  second,  it  is  well  to  mention  it  to  the  doc- 
tor who  is  watching  over  the  child,  so  that  he  may  suit 
his  treatment  to  the  particular  article  taken,  if  he  approves 
of  it.  One  of  the  cravings  of  an  invalid  is  for  water.  I 
have  great  faith  in  water.  There  is  nothing  which  the 
most  skilful  nurse  can  make  which  is  relished  so  much  as 
pure,  cold,  fresh  water;  and  unless  there  be  some  espe- 
cial reason  against  it,  there  should  be  no  limit.  It  should 
not  be  brought  into  the  sick  room  in  a  large  quantity  and 
left  there  till  it  becomes  warm  and  flat,  but  renewed  con- 
stantly. 

Remember  that  one  great  difference  between  a  grown- 
up person  and  a  child  is  this — an  adult  has  a  natural  dread 
of  death,  and  in  many  cases  a  far  greater  dread  of  the  af- 
ter '  death,"  and  will  therefore  submit  to  any  treatment, 
however  painful,  if  likely  to  preserve  life ;  whereas  a  child 
has  no  fear  of  death,  but  has  a  dread  of  present  pain.  When 
children  are  not  too  weak  to  bear  it,  we  should  do  all  we 
can  to  amuse  them — a  few  toys,  pictures,  a  pair  of  scissors 
and  some  paper  to  cut  up,  a  doll,  a  slate  and  pencil,  or  if 
there  be  a  pet  bird  or  any  small  animal,  let  it  come  in  the 
room  occasionally — anything  which  will  occupy  the  mind, 
cheer  the  spirits,  and  give  the  little  one  the  best  possible 
chance  of  recovery. 


Putnam's    Handy-Book    Strips. 


XII. — The  Home:  WHERE  IT  Simi'in  BK,  AND  WHAT  TO  PUT  IN  IT. 
Containing  hints  for  the  selection  of  a  Home,  its  furniture  and  inter- 
nal arrangements,  with  carefully-prepared  price  lists  of  nearly  every- 
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"  Young  housekeepers  will  be  especially  benefited,  and  all  housekeepers  may 
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XIII.— The  Mother's  Work  with  Sick    Children.     By   Prof.    J.  B. 
FONSSAGRIVES,    M.D.      Translated  and  edited  by  F.  P.  FOSTKR,  M.D.  ' 
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"  A  volume  which  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  mother  in  the  land."— 
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SEGUIN,  M.D.  I2mo,  cloth  .  .  .  .  .  .  75 

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enlarged  and  adapted  to  popular  use  by  MARY  PUTNAM  JACOBI,  M.D. 
I2mo,  boards  ..........  50 

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Richmond  Despatch. 

"  I  scarcely  looked  up  from  the  volume  before  I  had  scanned  all  its  fasci- 
nating pages."— Prof.  A.  T.  COOK,  in  American  Bee  Journal,  1878,  p.  422. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  NEW  YORK. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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